Marcy Kaptur

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I can say that Congresswoman Millender- McDonald would be so happy to see Congresswoman Yvette Clarke in the chair tonight. And I thank Congresswoman Diane Watson for her compassionate service and certainly for this memorial service tonight. And I extend deepest condolences on behalf of the people of Ohio to the family of our beloved Congresswoman, Juanita Millender-McDonald, her husband, Jim, her children, her grandchildren. Having had the great pleasure of serving with her during her entire tenure, let me say, when I think of Juanita, I think of a woman who was resilient, who was strong, determined, refined, accomplished, persevering and, indeed, courageous, a pioneer with a great sense of humor and, as a minister's daughter, a boundless sense of hope. Even today, for a woman to chair a full committee of this House is a rarity. And for an African-American woman, she created the mold, the first African-American woman in the history of this country to chair a full committee in this House. Just a few weeks ago, a new volume of ``Women of Congress'' was published, and hers is the first name in that volume, commissioned by order of the Chair of the House Administration Committee, Juanita Millender-McDonald. There are some people who teach us how to live and indeed, she did. And many people can teach us how to die, and she has done that with her great dignity and her courage. Just a few weeks ago, when Nancy Pelosi of California was sworn in as our first Speaker, I had the great honor of being one of the two Democratic tellers. Juanita, as Chair of the House Administration Committee, sat to my right. I shall never forget that moment, and I think she lived partly for that moment. May her strength comfort her family in these trying moments of bereavement. I believe God holds close those who journey toward the light in this Easter and Passover season. And may the angels of mercy lift her and lift the spirits of those who love her and bring comfort and bring peace.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise to commemorate the life of Andrew Burris, a professional carpenter by trade, who gave his life today in Toledo, Ohio, as he helped place the finishing touches on the largest Federal transportation project in Ohio's history. Burris suffered fatal injury as he worked to complete Interstate 280's new river crossing known as the Veterans Glass City Skyway that spans the Maumee River, the largest river flowing into the Great Lakes. At approximately 9:15 this morning, 36-year-old Andrew W. Burris, of Curtice, Ohio, fell to his death from a scaffolding on the north side of the bridge. He was a faithful and dedicated member of the Carpenters Union Local 1138. As a carpenter for nearly 10 years, his union brothers said Andrew loved his work and was an excellent carpenter. The new skyway replaces the last drawbridge left on our Nation's interstate system. The cable-stayed bridge will carry three lanes of traffic in each direction over the river extending from I-75 on the north end to Navarre Avenue on the south end. The surface of the roadway will reach about 130 feet above the center of the river. As our Nation builds forward, brick by brick, steel rod by steel rod, cement block by cement block, wood beam by wood beam, sometimes we forget the danger faced by the men and women skilled in these trades as they craft our monuments to civilization. It takes a tragedy like this to give us pause and say a silent prayer for all workers in their daily arduous labor. Andrew's death is not the first tragedy to befall the workers on this new highway in the sky. On President's Day, 2004, a crane collapse on the Maumee River Crossing Bridge led to the death of four iron workers. This bridge to the future these men and women have been building is a monument and a testament to their work. In the Record entry I offered following the death of those four iron workers on that fateful February day, I noted the men and women building the bridge had been about great deeds. We watch their incredible feats daily with admiration and, yes, with awe. We witness their minds, their muscles and hands forming of the Earth a new and better future for us all. On the hottest summer days, as well as bone-chilling, subzero temperatures of winter in the north, they toiled fearlessly above us creating a majestic expression of who they were and who we are as a people. We humbly acknowledge and publicly recognize them for their heroic, steadfast, and artful deeds as building tradesmen. The men who lost their lives leave not only their mastery of iron and concrete and steel and the creation of beauty from it as their legacy, but more importantly, they leave cherished lives and families. The same is true of Andrew Burris. Though his life was cut short, he leaves a legacy in the bridge he helped create and in all that his carpenter's hands produced. Emily Dickinson's poem ``In This Short Life'' tells us: ``In this short life That lasts an hour How much--how little--is Within our power.'' And as we live our lives, all are affected by tragedy, some small and some great. It is the trials and tragedies of life which make us stronger and make the joys of life so much sweeter. I know this lesson of life does not decrease the sadness and pain felt by all those who knew and loved Andrew Burris. Our entire community offers its sympathy to those who called him father, husband, son, brother, friend, colleague. We celebrate him in recalling the words in ``A Song of Life'' by Ella Wheeler Wilcox: ``In the rapture of life and of living, I lift up my head and rejoice, And I thank the great Giver for giving, The soul of my gladness a voice. I lift up my eyes to Apollo, The god of the beautiful days And my spirit soars off like a swallow And is lost in the light of its rays. Come out of the world--come above it-- Up over its crosses and graves, Though the green Earth is fair and I love it, We must love it as masters, not slaves. Come up where the dust never rises-- But only the perfume of flowers-- And your life shall be glad with surprises Of beautiful hours. Come up where the rare golden wine is Apollo distills in my sight, And your life shall be happy as mine is, And as full of delight.''

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, on April 9, 2007, 29-year-old Toledoan, Santiago Raphael Cruz, was found bound, gagged and beaten to death in Monterrey, Mexico, in the office of his employer, the Toledo-based Farm Labor Organizing Committee, or FLOC. Mr. Cruz moved from Toledo, Ohio, to Mexico 3 months ago to legally arrange for Mexican guest laborers to work for a North Carolina pickle plant with which FLOC has a contract. FLOC's efforts assured guest workers were treated humanely, that their papers were legal, and that the notorious crime-ridden labor recruitment system that characterizes farm labor on this continent would cease to exist. FLOC, which is part of the AFL-CIO, is a farm labor union and social movement based in our district led by Baldemar Velasquez. FLOC is perhaps most recently known for achieving a fair labor contract for guest workers in the United States with H2A visas in North Carolina. Mr. Velasquez led that campaign, as well as one to organize pickle workers in Ohio in the 1980s, and has been recognized as a MacArthur Foundation fellow. In Mexico, FLOC offered a safe, legal alternative to the exploitative promises of coyotes and those who charge exorbitant fees to smuggle Mexicans across the border. The union had been burglarized, and the workers harassed for their efforts to protect Mexicans wishing to work in our country. I learned, as I learned more about Mr. Cruz's brutal murder, I asked myself whether this horrendous crime could have been encouraged by FLOC's noble efforts to stop the illegal trafficking and continental labor caused by NAFTA. I have called upon the governments of the United States and Mexico to fully investigate and bring the perpetrators of this horrendous crime to justice. These coyotes prey upon desperate Mexican workers whose lands were taken from them by the Mexican Government under NAFTA. NAFTA set up conditions in North America for cruel exploitation of millions of landless peasants and workers in Mexico. Mr. Velasquez and FLOC worked endlessly to give people not only legal rights but hope for an end to the harsh treatment handed to them by the governments of the United States and of Mexico. The current and often illegal labor recruitment system is rife with corruption. It exploits landless peasants through a corrupt bounty system imposed by unsavory labor recruiters. Many times I have said NAFTA fuels illegal immigration by creating an exodus of massive proportion of people from the Mexican countryside who need something to eat after their livelihoods are taken from them. The manner in which these people are being exploited is a continental sacrilege. The problem with NAFTA and NAFTA-style trade agreements is they fail to take people into account. NAFTA and NAFTA-style agreements serve the interests primarily of the money classes. They reduce risks for Wall Street investors while raising the risk that workers in our heartland will lose their jobs and health care. They are manna for hedge funds, but a threat to the economic security of blue collar workers. They leave people out of the question. Whether it is campesinos in Mexico trying to provide food for their families and eke out an existence taken from them by their own government in cahoots with ours through NAFTA, or auto workers in the Midwest pursuing the American dream of a house, a car, and a better life for their children, they are the forgotten people in our global economy. As Mr. Velasquez noted, Mr. Cruz had a good heart and was working for the people. Mr. Cruz gave his life in service to the forgotten people. We honor his commitment and we extend our sympathies to his family, to his friends, and to the entire FLOC community of which our community is so very proud. His horrific death reminds us how brutal and unforgiving the NAFTA- induced labor system has become across our continent. It is time to renegotiate NAFTA. It is time not to extend it further. It is time to require continental labor standards that uphold the dignity of human life, not extinguish it. Mr. Speaker, I submit extraneous material for printing in the Record, and I thank my colleague from Washington for allowing me to speak. [From the toledoblade.com, April 12, 2007] U.S. Demands Probe of Slaying (By Clyde Hughes) The U.S. General Consulate Office in Mexico is pressing for a complete investigation in the beating death of a Toledo union worker found dead early Monday at the union's office in Monterrey, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) said yesterday. Law enforcement officials from the state of Nuevo Leon are investigating the death of Santiago Rafael Cruz, 29, a Mexican native who has lived in Toledo since 1998 and had worked for the Farm Labor Organizing Committee as manager of its Monterrey office for three months, said Baldemar Velasquez, longtime president of the union. Mr. Velasquez said he believed Mr. Cruz's death is directly related to FLOC's efforts to organize workers in the Monterrey area. He said the union's education efforts made workers there less susceptible to people who would charge workers large sums of money to enter the United States illegally. FLOC's program there recruits Mexican residents interested in going to the United States as part of a guest-worker program through a contract the union has with a North Carolina pickle company, union officials said. Mr. Cruz was bound, gagged, and beaten, Miss Kaptur said yesterday. She said she talked with Edward Heartney, consul for politics and economic affairs with the U.S. consulate general in Monterrey, who assured her he'd press the Mexican government for a thorough investigation and offer the assistance of the FBI. Miss Kaptur said she also could call for a special investigation, which is allowed through the North American Free Trade Agreement, which would engage the labor departments of both the United States and Mexico. She said the investigation provision in NAFTA, though, does not provide for sanctions. ``Right now, they need to do the basic policing work,'' Miss Kaptur said. ``Our government is engaged and I wanted [Mr. Heartney's] assurance on that. You see how NAFTA is contributing to this endless stream of people who are so vulnerable to exploitation. ``There are no worker protections under NAFTA. When [FLOC] does try to take the illegality out of what's going on there, this sort of horrendous tragedy occurs. It will be taken note of on a national level here.'' Mr. Velasquez said his union workers have been harassed there before for organizing workers and helping them obtain legal documents to work in the United States. He said he believes that people running illegal operations to move Mexicans into the United States see FLOC as a threat. ``We're actually fighting the corruption that's prevalent in this area,'' Mr. Velasquez said via phone call from Monterrey. ``There's been 10 policemen killed here in the last year. We've educated the workers not to be taken advantage of and some people here don't like that, but we have to carry on the work.'' Mr. Velasquez said Mr. Cruz's body will be returned to Puebla, Mexico, where the majority of his family is located, for a funeral. He said arrangements for the funeral have not been made yet. He said Mr. Cruz's work with FLOC, which dates to his arrival to Toledo in 1998, made a difference in the union. ``He had a heart for the people,'' Mr. Velasquez said. ``He spent his extra time consulting people, teaching them how not to get cheated and ripped off by phony promises by people who said they could get papers for undocumented folks, and he would explain any proposals out there for immigration reform. ``Basically, he wouldn't allow people to be duped by other people wanting to take advantage of people's ignorance. He was very effective at that.'' Mr. Velasquez and Miss Kaptur said the murder investigation is still in the early stages and both said they plan on following the results closely.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I am proud to recognize two long-time advocates in our community, Joan Coleman and Anthony Pizza. Both will be honored at the inaugural ``Stand Up for Victims'' event on April 25, 2007, sponsored by Advocates for Victims and Justice, Inc. in Toledo, Ohio. The organization was developed by Mr. Pizza and Mrs. Coleman to assist crime victims and provide educational and prevention programs to the community. Advocates for Victims and Justice, Inc. also assists older adult victims of crime as well as victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Joan Coleman was the first Executive Director of the Toledo/Lucas County Victim Witness Assistance Program, initiated in 1990 by then Lucas County Prosecutor Anthony Pizza. The Prosecutor believed that the victims of crime and their families suffered needlessly through inadequate attention from the court system itself and deserved special attention as they navigated that system. Under Joan Coleman's able tutelage, the Victims Witness Assistance Program has grown to a staff of seventeen with offices throughout Lucas County. A graduate of the University of Toledo with a degree in Education/ Social Work, Joan put her experience as a community activist to work in establishing and growing the Victim Witness Assistance Program into a premiere service providing outreach for Spanish-speaking victims; assistance to victims of juvenile offenders in Juvenile Court; a crisis response team for short-term assistance to victims of domestic violence throughout the county, a three-part intervention in the local schools to educate schoolchildren about the effects of crime on victims, offenders, and the community known as the Victims Forum; Kids' Space for children of female victims of violent crime who could not appear in court without this free child watch service; Suburban Courts' Services to provide support and advocacy for victims in the Maumee and Sylvania court systems; and Victims Forum Peacemakers, a school-based program which teaches children the skills to combat bullying. In an effort to fully address the challenge of funding for all of these services, Joan sought the establishment of a non-profit foundation. Advocates for Victims and Justice, Inc. was incorporated in 1994 to help retain and expand victims' services to meet the ever- increasing needs of the community. Private donations remain a vital source of funding for the programs which Joan worked so tirelessly and passionately to establish. Those honoring her describe Joan best as they ``gratefully thank and honor the woman whose vision, energy, commitment and passion for victims of violent crime and their families has given many thousands of people a sense of acceptance and hope.'' More than just an administrator, Joan Coleman has accompanied thousands of victims into the courtroom remaining by their side. It is not unusual for victims and their families to remain in contact with the Victim Witness Assistance Program long after their proceedings have been finalized. This fact is the most telling tribute to this remarkable woman. Anthony G. Pizza, was elected Lucas County Prosecutor in 1976 and served continuously until his retirement in 1996. In this twenty-year period, Tony ``endeared himself to the citizens of Lucas County as a man with both a huge heart and a passionate conviction that crime has no place in our community.'' Born in Toledo in 1921, Tony graduated from St. Charles grade school and Libbey High School, where he played varsity football and was class salutatorian. He attended Kenyon College and graduated from the University of Toledo College of Law in 1950. He and his wife Madlynn, married now 63 years, together raised four children and have six grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Tony actually began his career in the Prosecutor's Office in 1951, where he served as an assistant prosecutor. Thus it can be said that Tony devoted his entire career as an advocate for justice on behalf of the citizens of our community. In all, Tony Pizza served our community for 45 years in the office of the Lucas County Prosecutor, an impressive tenure during which he often used innovative methods to fight crime. During all those years, he never let difficult situations or personal tragedy drag him down and his ``sunny disposition, leadership, and dedication to our community'' inspired us all. Tony Pizza also understood the ability of his office to address non- criminal needs and causes. As one example, he successfully stopped the State of Michigan from building a hazardous waste dump which would pollute the waterways of Northwest Ohio by filing suit in the U.S. District Court. Though retired as Prosecutor for a decade, Tony still practices law. His family remains paramount and he has earned the privilege of spending warm winters in Florida. The recognition offered him in the tribute describes this incredible man among men as ``a most deserving attorney and Prosecutor, as well as a uniquely blessed and courageous human being. `Lest we forget!' is the testimony inscribed on the Toledo Police Memorial. It also perfectly describes Anthony G. Pizza, mentor and friend to all of us privileged enough to know him.'' It is wonderful that the Advocates for Victims and Justice, Inc. has chosen to honor these two amazing people while they are able to enjoy the recognition and know how much they mean to the people of our community. I offer my personal congratulations to both Joan Coleman and Tony Pizza as they receive this honor, and my own heartfelt thank you to each for courageous and selfless service.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, on April 9, our community lost a giant of a man dedicated to the greater good and betterment of all. Joseph Tomasi, lifetime labor union leader and resident of Ohio, passed from this life to the next at the age of 86 after a decade long and valiant struggle with kidney disease. He loved his family and community and devoted his noble life to the cause of working men and women. For nearly all his life, Mr. Tomasi built the labor movement within Ohio and America. In an effort to stand up for what he believed in, Mr. Tomasi lost his first job because of participation in union activities, and later dedicated his life to this cause. He served our Nation during World War II in the United States Army and was awarded the Purple Heart medal. When he returned, Mr. Tomasi continued to exhibit his dedication to his community by working as the director of Region 2B for the United Auto Workers for 17 years. Even after retirement, Mr. Tomasi helped to establish and served on the board for the Northwest Ohio Cooperative Labor Management Center at the University of Toledo. His efforts there saved thousands of jobs in our region through careful attention to negotiated workouts and settlements and gained respect from all involved. Joe Tomasi showed compassion to all. He gave back to the community every chance he was given. He served on numerous boards and committees throughout the Northwest Ohio area, always striving to help bridge the gap between management and labor. Mr. Tomasi's calm and collected manner, his keen insight and unbounding enthusiasm will be missed by all. He always fought for the underdog--in his profession, his community, and his politics. His spirit inspired all those who knew him. May God royally bless him for a life lived for others. We extend our deepest sympathies to Mr. Tomasi's daughter, son, grandchildren, brothers and sister and extended family. We know Joe joins his childhood sweetheart, Evelyn, in the heavens beyond.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. I would like to deeply thank, Mr. Chairman, the chairman of our Budget Committee, the very able and distinguished gentleman from South Carolina, John Spratt, who has led our committee to produce a budget that will balance in the next 5 years with no tax increase. It is going to take pay-as-you-go and it is going to take a real regimen to correct America's net negative savings rate. Certainly, the Bush administration has done much damage in the last 6 years by making a mess of fiscal policy, just as it has made a mess of foreign policy; and now we have got these overhanging budget deficits and trade deficits. For, in fact, in 2001, the administration inherited a projected 10-year surplus of nearly $6 trillion; and within 2 years alone the surplus had been eliminated and we began piling up debt, adding $2.8 trillion over 6 years, much of it purchased by foreign investors, which I will talk about here in just a second. I want to thank Chairman Spratt for doing what is right for America. Many organizations, like the Concord Coalition, states, ``Thus, to be clear, the Democratic budget resolution does not call for nor require a tax increase.'' The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said this month as well, ``The House Democratic plan does not include a tax increase.'' And the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution of this month also says, ``The Democratic budget would not raise taxes.'' I think that those on the other side of the aisle doth protest too much, because, in fact, you didn't produce this kind of budget. Now, you might be well intentioned. I used to think Republicans balanced budgets. I have since learned differently after serving here in this Congress. I want to talk about what is so dangerous about the debt that the Republicans and the Bush administration have accrued. If you look at who is footing the bill, it is foreign countries, Japan, the oil- producing and exporting nations, China. In fact, China now holds over $1 trillion in U.S. dollar reserves, and they are looking to diversify away from the Dow. And if you look at what is happening to the price of gold, it is skyrocketing as the U.S. dollar's worth is dropping. Our accounts are badly out of order. This budget maintains in the reserve account all of the tax breaks that were given to the American people, the extension of the child tax credit, the marriage penalty relief, extension of the research and air experimentation tax credit, extension of the deduction for State and local sales taxes, school construction bonds and so forth. So even with the incredible drag of the Iraq war on our Federal budget and our Nation's economy, this Democratic budget that Chairman Spratt and members of our committee have produced does achieve balance within 5 years. It is rigorous, it will make the Nation more healthy, and I just want to commend him for taking a most difficult challenge and doing what is right for the American people, for our children and grandchildren.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure and honor that I congratulate Mrs. Pearl Marcus Richter of Toledo, Ohio, on the occasion of her forthcoming 90th birthday. Pearl will be celebrating this milestone event with family members, including two grandchildren, who will be gathering this weekend in the Washington, DC area where Pearl's daughter and son have each settled. Pearl was born on April 6, 1917, in Indianapolis, Indiana, to immigrant parents (like so many other fine Americans) on that momentous day in history during which Congress declared war against Germany and the United States entered the conflict in Europe that became World War I. Her mother was ill during most of her childhood and Pearl was always a great help in the home. Pearl graduated from Shortridge High School in Indianapolis in 1934 at the age of 17. By then, her mother had passed away, leaving Pearl to be the female head of a household that included her father and one older and one younger brother. In 1940, life changed dramatically for Pearl. She met Morris A. Richter in February, it was love at first sight, and in May they married and moved to Terre Haute, Indiana, where Morris worked. For nearly 15 months, December 1944-February 1946, Pearl was at home alone to care for a daughter, born in 1940, and a son, born in 1944, while Morris served in the American Area Campaign of the U.S. Navy. Both children share the same birthday, July 18, and Pearl always jokes that it was because her husband was an accountant. In the summer of 1958, the Richter family moved to Toledo, Ohio, where Morris had taken a job with the federal government, and into a house on Cheltenham Road in the Old Orchard district. Daughter Ceceile Kay graduated from the University of Toledo in 1963 and son Sheldon Jay graduated from Ohio State University in 1967. Pearl was at both graduations but unfortunately Morris was not; he had died of a heart attack in October 1961, just weeks after his 46th birthday. Pearl went to work soon afterwards as a sales clerk with Petrie Stores and had worked her way up to assistant manager before she retired. Pearl has always been active in her synagogues and taught Sunday School in both Terre Haute and Toledo. In Toledo, she is a member of B'nai Israel Synagogue and its Sisterhood and its Synagogue Organized Afternoon Program. She is also an active member and was an officer for several years in the Friendship Club, one of many activities she enjoys through the Jewish Family Services Senior Adult Center. Pearl lived in Kenwood Gardens for over 35 years and since late 2001 has enjoyed living at Carriage House East where she is regular caller at monthly bingo and a semi-regular in an informal poker club in which she is one of the youngest members. Pearl's favorite activity besides working crossword puzzles is mah jongg, and she plays as frequently as she can. She is a member of the National Mah Jongg League, having joined soon after its inception in 1937, and she is always the first in her groups to learn the rules changes each year. Even more so than any of the above, her family and friends know Pearl as a favorite baker. Pearl used to bake almost every day and most of this she would give away. Now she has cut her baking back to a few times a month. A visitor to her home is always served a cup of steaming hot coffee or, perhaps, fresh-squeezed lemonade or limeade, and a baked dessert. If something fresh is not on the counter, her visitors need not worry. There are always tins of baked goods in her freezer. Her family has been wishing for some time that Pearl would move to the Washington, DC area where one of the pleasures, besides her company, will be the ritual of opening her freezer to see what baked goods are inside. Pearl has always been generous about sharing her recipes. Family members and close friend Bea Goldman have now sent copies of these recipes to Pearl's daughter, who will be combining them with recipes in her collection and from her memory into a recipe book to be provided to guests after the dinner in honor of Pearl's birthday. I join with Pearl's family and friends in wishing her a most joyous birthday, spent looking back in fond recollection and looking forward to future years. Congratulations and best wishes!

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure and honor that I congratulate Mrs. Pearl Marcus Richter of Toledo, Ohio, on the occasion of her forthcoming 90th birthday. Pearl will be celebrating this milestone event with family members, including two grandchildren, who will be gathering this weekend in the Washington, DC area where Pearl's daughter and son have each settled. Pearl was born on April 6, 1917, in Indianapolis, Indiana, to immigrant parents (like so many other fine Americans) on that momentous day in history during which Congress declared war against Germany and the U.S. entered the conflict in Europe that became World War I. Her mother was ill during most of her childhood and Pearl was always a great help in the home. Pearl graduated from Shortridge High School in Indianapolis in 1934 at the age of 17. By then, her mother had passed away, leaving Pearl to be the female head of a household that included her father and one older and one younger brother. In 1940, life changed dramatically for Pearl. She met Morris A. Richter in February, it was love at first sight and in May they married and moved to Terre Haute, Indiana, where Morris worked. For nearly 15 months, December 1944-February 1946, Pearl was at home alone to care for a daughter, born in 1940, and a son, born in 1944, while Morris served in the American Area Campaign of the U.S. Navy. Both children share the same birthday, July 18, and Pearl always jokes that it was because her husband was an accountant. In the summer of 1958, the Richter family moved to Toledo, Ohio, where Morris had taken a job with the federal government, and into a house on Cheltenham Road in the Old Orchard district. Daughter Ceceile Kay graduated from the University of Toledo in 1963 and son Sheldon Jay graduated from Ohio State University in 1967. Pearl was at both graduations but unfortunately Morris was not; he had died of a heart attack in October 1961, just weeks after his 46th birthday. Pearl went to work soon afterwards as a sales clerk with Petrie Stores and had worked her way up to assistant manager before she retired. Pearl has always been active in her synagogues and taught Sunday School in both Terre Haute and Toledo. In Toledo, she is a member of B'nai Israel Synagogue and its Sisterhood and its Synagogue Organized Afternoon Program. She is also an active member and was an officer for several years in the Friendship Club, one of many activities she enjoys through the Jewish Family Services Senior Adult Center. Pearl lived in Kenwood Gardens for over 35 years and since late 2001 has enjoyed living at Carriage House East where she is a regular caller at monthly bingo and a semi-regular in an informal poker club in which she is one of the youngest members. Pearl's favorite activity besides working crossword puzzles is Mah Jongg, and she plays as frequently as she can. She is a member of the National Mah Jongg League, having joined soon after its inception in 1937, and she is always the first in her groups to learn the rules' changes each year. Even more so than any of the above, her family and friends know Pearl as a favorite baker. Pearl used to bake almost every day and most of this she would give away. Now she has cut her baking back to a few times a month. A visitor to her home is always served a cup of steaming hot coffee or, perhaps, fresh-squeezed lemon or lime ade, and a baked dessert. If something fresh is not on the counter, her visitors need not worry. There are always tins of baked goods in her freezer. Her family has been wishing for some time that Pearl would move to the Washington, DC area where one of the pleasures, besides her company, will be the ritual of opening her freezer to see what baked goods are inside. Pearl has always been generous about sharing her recipes. Family members and close friend Bea Goldman have now sent copies of these recipes to Pearl's daughter, who will be combining them with recipes in her collection and from her memory into a recipe book to be provided to guests after the dinner in honor of Pearl's birthday. I join with Pearl's family and friends in wishing her a most joyous birthday, spent looking back in fond recollection and looking forward to future years. Congratulations and best wishes!

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. I think that if we look at those people that are trying to sell off chunks of America piece by piece, I am offended by that. I am truly offended by it. When I heard the announcement that Hershey, one of America's logo companies, right, was going to move production to Mexico, they are already making those big kisses there, I guess. I did not know that. When you think of all the dairy jobs in Pennsylvania, you think of all of the factory jobs, you think of all of the distribution jobs. I mean, this is a massive American company. It was America. It was America. And so now we are going to let that go? And then they dumbed down the recipe so the chocolate is not as good? They put more wax in it or whatever. Come on. Do not take the American people for fools. We understand what is going on, and we know that we are being sold out. America is being sold out from under us, and the American people do not like it at all. They expect us to stand up for them. So it is just a joy to have you here, to be a part of this effort, and to say that the Peru and Colombian free trade agreement that is supposed to come through here on fast track, again, it is more just of NAFTA. It is more of the same. We should not approve it. But what has surprised me the most, as much as the American people have been hurt by NAFTA, if we go back, what has shocked me, what I never expected or anticipated, was all the casualties across the continent in terms of job loss and people hurt. I never thought I would see the people of Latin America rise up in Mexico, in Brazil, in these massive demonstrations. That has literally humbled me as a citizen of the continent to think that the poorest among us, many have been risking their lives, to say the pain on them is even greater than on us. Their wages have been cut in half. They are losing their little stakeholds in Mexico, for example, and they are just being thrown off their land, and yet they are going to Mexico City and demonstrating by the millions. I never anticipated that that would happen, and I think what is going to happen here, those folks in Wall Street and other places thought they were going to be so smart. I think you are going to see another generation come behind us. They are going to create a charter for the people of the Americas that we should have created. Some of us wanted to, but we did not have the votes here, and I think that the backlash on NAFTA and on these kinds of free trade agreements that cause so much harm, I think Wall Street has only begun to see what is going to happen. So I put my faith in the people, I put my faith in the institutions of good governance, and I hope that, I do not know how harshly God will judge those who have done so much harm, but it did not have to happen. We don't have to repeat the mistakes of the past, so I thank my dear colleagues here this evening, Congressman Michaud and Congressman Hare and Congressman Lynch and Congressman Ellison, for understanding what it is going to take to turn this continent and our values to put the values forward that were the ideals. When I think about John Kennedy and his Alliance For Progress, and you go down in Latin America and in every home there is a picture of John Kennedy because he cared for them. He cared for them first. I thought how did we go so far? Why couldn't we get a majority here? What was wrong with us back in the 1990s, that is, that we couldn't put that together? I see a rebirth of that spirit of idealism here this evening, and I know that the continent is waiting for us. I thank my dear colleagues for sponsoring this Special Order this evening and for helping us speak on behalf of the people who expect us to be here for them.

Ms. KAPTUR. But our numbers are growing. We said when NAFTA passed it was the first battle in a long war, and we knew there were going to be casualties, and it literally broke our heart because we knew what was going to happen on this continent. But now we have the next wave that came in when Congressman Michaud arrived; and now, with 39 new Members in your class, Congressman Hare, to come here, and you cannot imagine what that means to the more senior Members. Our only sadness is all the casualties that are out there and all the people that have had to suffer. We had hoped to protect America from that. We had hoped to protect those families, but we did not have the votes. But now I think we have the votes. I know one thing, we have the American people. Sometimes things get a little convoluted once it comes into this city, but we know the American people are with us. Let us make them famous. They are the ones that have lived this. Let us put it on our Web sites. Let us tell their stories. If others will not, let us do that. They surely deserve that. They have lived it.

Ms. KAPTUR. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Congressman Hare and I are thinking about going to track the whole Maytag saga, starting in his home community but then going over to Iowa and the whole buyout of Maytag by Wall Street and the shedding of jobs, thousands, thousands of jobs. Then, in my home State of Ohio, 2,000 more jobs hang in the balance at a place called Hoover Vacuum, which was part of this leveraged buyout. There was an article recently in the paper about the Maytags now being made by Samsung in South Korea, 250,000 of them being recalled in this country because they are burning up. They are actually catching on fire because water is dripping off the back onto the electrical panel. That never happened with Maytag. The Maytag repairman really was in that little room, and nobody bothered him. I think it is important for us as Members to tell the story, whether it is Maytag, whether it is Champion, Dixon Ticonderoga, companies that Congressman Michaud worked for, and whether it is Maytag. We need to help America give full voice to what is happening. It is interesting how little is on television, because some of the very same advertisers that own the airwaves do not want this story on there. I understand Lou Dobbs is coming to Congress this week for a hearing that Congressman Sherman is going to have. That is one of the few reporters that even talks about this, but for the most part you do not see this on the evening news. So I am very anxious to travel and tell the Maytag story and then maybe tell the story of Brachs Candy and tell the story of some our steel mills and to give these workers, first, appreciation for the fine products that they have built and it is not their fault and to say that we understand, but we know we are outnumbered sometimes, but our numbers are growing.

Ms. KAPTUR. Congressman Michaud, thank you so much for bringing us together tonight and for your great contributions to this debate. That is probably the major economic debate this Nation faces. It is a real pleasure to be here with you this evening. I thank you for yielding me some time. And to Congressman Phil Hare from Illinois, who has just hit the ground running here and who I think is such a tremendous addition to our membership and to this great struggle for the cause of all people in our country, the dignity of their work, the future for their families and the future of our communities. And to Congressman Steve Lynch of Massachusetts, who works so respectably as an ironworker. He looks like that man that they have on that iron beam over New York City, that famous poster. Whenever I look at him, I think I see him. He is the one who is swinging the golf club with the ball or something. It is a pleasure to be here with these gentlemen tonight, because they have all worked for a living, their families have worked for a living, and we need more people who bring this experience to the Congress of the United States. The plant that Congressman Michaud discussed, Champion spark plugs, no longer exists in Toledo. Back when I was first elected, we tried so hard to get the Japanese to buy the spark plugs, the best plugs that were made in the whole country, Champion spark plugs. I took them to Japan in 1985, and I said to Prime Minister Nakasone, ``Your companies aren't buying from our premier companies.'' Our trade deficit was beginning to really get bad back then, so I said, ``So I would like to suggest that we give you these plugs for free for your manufacturers, and let them try them.'' And we learned a lot about the keiratsu system of Japan and what a closed system indeed it is and that other companies couldn't bid into that production and that these very tight buying chains exist globally. Japan has been eating our lunch in the automotive market for a very long time now, but the Japanese market still remains closed, with less than 3 percent of the cars on their streets from anywhere else in the world. They didn't even take Yugos or bugs, VW bugs. So that market is a closed market, and we began to see how difficult it was to engage in trade with nations who truly were protectionists. Congressman Hare talked about protectionist countries. You can see pretty clearly which ones they are when you look at what is on their shelves and what is on their streets. I am here tonight to say that I have never supported fast track, because I don't believe Congress should ever let a fast ball go through here that we don't grab ahold of. And the problem is you can't amend a trade agreement. So even if you want to, as happened when we debated NAFTA, I can't remember a more piercing debate in this Congress other than votes on war. That NAFTA debate was the most significant economic debate we had here in 1993; and at the time that we debated that, it was purposefully brought to the floor in a way that we could not amend. So let me just take one issue. We are going to have discussions this year on the issue of immigration. When that bill came down here, there were many of us who said we have to deal with the displacement that is going to happen in Mexico in the farm sector, because there is no transition provision in NAFTA and no currency exchange, that we knew that the Mexican farmers were going to be thrown off of their community oriented farming ejido systems. It has happened. No one wants to recognize it has happened, but over 2 million people were disgorged from their villages and towns, and they are wandering the continent, providing an endless stream of labor that is dirt cheap there and here. It is almost as if they didn't want us to talk about it because that fast track bill came through here. Now, the NAFTA model is being used, they want to expand it to Colombia, they want to put it to Peru. I wanted to say a word about Colombia this evening. I agree with Congressman Michaud. There is no nation in the world that allows the assassination of their labor leaders more than Colombia. Why would we want to sign a free trade agreement with a country that isn't free? Our cardinal rule ought to be: Free trade among free people. When we look at what happened in Colombia recently, Chiquita brands, remember Chiquita Banana, which is headquartered in my State of Ohio, has just pleaded guilty to funding terrorism in Colombia. Several what are called unidentified high-ranking corporate officers of a subsidiary of Chiquita paid $1.7 million from 1997 through 2004 to fund the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, a group that our country says is a terrorist organization. And Chiquita also bribed other groups inside of Colombia. The company has now admitted to this wrongdoing and agreed to pay $25 million in fines. They said that the money was paid to protect employees from violent paramilitaries who fight over the banana plantations. I wouldn't wish working on a Colombian banana plantation to any living human being. And yet we are about to sign a free trade agreement under fast track that we can't amend and stand up for the dignity of people in Colombia. We know that the Colombian worker isn't safe; yet the President evidently thinks it is okay to sign an agreement where there is no transparent justice system, where bribes and protections and murders are every-day occurrences. Where are our values as a country? Why has it taken us almost 20 years from 1985 to 1995 to 2005, now it is 2007, to bring this issue up? We had to have so many casualties in this country. We tried 23 years ago so the hurt would not be so bad. And the gentlemen that are here this evening, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Michaud, Mr. Hare, Mr. Ellison, they represent those who are suffering in our country. There are people suffering in other countries, too. I want to say I associate myself with the gentleman's remarks this evening. And what you said about those who have been murdered in Colombia, we know 72 were murdered in 2006, and the gentleman talked about prior assassinations of those who were trying to form groups there so they could earn a decent wage. Almost none have been prosecuted. It is like their lives have no meaning. So we need to set a higher standard. Maybe our Constitution really should stand for something and we should look for an agreement among the peoples of the Americas that uses democracy and liberty as its fundamental principles, not the diminishing of workers, be they farmers or industrial workers. I oppose the Colombian free trade agreement and stand up for human rights, the middle class, the rule of law, and everything that this Nation should be committed to.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, the fine chairman of our Appropriations Committee, and say he would know that because he also is featured in the same magazine. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this first counteroffensive to the Bush administration's reckless approach to the global war on terrorism that has yielded an Iraqi civil war, over 3,200 U.S. dead, nearly 25,000 injuries, the evaporation of the coalition of the willing, tens of thousands of dead Iraqis, growing terrorism, hatred of America across the Islamic world, and shock and dismay among America's closest democratic allies globally. The Bush administration has no answers. In fact, their budgets for this war reveal how lost at sea they are. Every single year they have asked for more in emergency add-ons than they planned to spend in the base budget bill itself. Yet our brave troops fight on to hold the military edge. And this bill helps us fight harder for them by not asking them to bear the full burden of this war, because it sets a timetable for progress and requires the President to meet benchmarks he, himself, has set. Our vote today funds our troops but, importantly, signals that victory means one-third military and two-thirds diplomacy and good governance and sets a timetable to get there, not just militarily, but strategically and diplomatically. If they knew what they were doing, these expenditures would have been built into the base budget, not afterthoughts. Look how out of touch they are with what was required: FY 2001 (Emergency Supplemental); $13.9 billion; FY 2002 (Supplemental): $3.4 billion; FY 2002 (Supplemental): $14.1 billion; FY 2003 (Supplemental): $66.0 billion; FY 2004 (Supplemental): $86.1 billion; FY 2005 (Supplemental): $79.0 billion; FY 2006 (Supp): $69.3 billion. Additionally, there is the critical money appropriated by Congress that the Administration did not even think to ask for: FY 2005 Defense Appropriations Act: $25.7 billion; FY 2006 Defense Appropriations Act: $50 billion; FY 2007 Defense Appropriations Act: $70 billion. Despite Congress voting all the funding that was requested, and even adding some additional where necessary, how is that our soldiers across the theatre don't have the right equipment? Just today, I received a call from an uncle of a Marine about to be deployed to Anbar Province: ``His Kevlar vest isn't the right size, he has no visor to properly sync with his laser-guided weapon. The Marines are having to pay for supplies themselves like fire retardant gloves, duct tape, 550 cord, oil lubricants for the weapons, not enough boots, two sets of uniforms rather than the five they should be issued, and they are too big.'' Our vote today funds our troops. But importantly signals that victory means \1/3\ military and \2/3\ diplomacy and good governance and sets a timetable to get there, not just militarily but strategically and diplomatically. It falls to the Democrats to pick up the pieces of a failed foreign policy. And that is exactly what we are doing with this vote. No one here is operating under the illusion that we are presented with good choices. Importantly, this vote funds the troops we have in theatre. Although this bill holds the hope of redeploying our troops more effectively no later than a year from now, it continues to impose almost the entire burden of the mission in Iraq on our military. Meanwhile, U.S. policy is exacerbating terrorism and begetting violence that could spill over into Jordan, Turkey, Bahrain, Kuwait, Pakistan, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia--all while the Afghan war is becoming more challenging. Whatever happened to the coalition of the willing? Where are the neighbors of Iraq? Where are the diplomats to address the Israel-Palestinian standoff? In Egypt, 70 percent of the public unfavorably views the United States. In Jordan, U.S. favorability has fallen to 15 percent. In Saudi Arabia, from where the majority--9-11 terrorists emerged, the U.S. is disliked by 76 percent of it citizens. Gallup polls tell us why: America is viewed as not on the side of rising popular expectations for a more democratic way of life. The United States is viewed as a promiscuous culture in moral decay. Abu Ghraib affirmed them in their views. Granted, no single vote here will quickly repair the damage to our nation's prestige, mend the broken hearts, or put back together the broken lives of thousands of American and Iraqi families. No single vote will invigorate Iraq's neighbors to promote regional stability. No single vote will win the war on terrorism. No single vote will free America from her dangerous dependency on imported oil from dictatorships. America faces a strategic challenge much larger than Iraq. It requires aligning America on the side of democratic dreams of underprivileged people, not just the super-rich, in the vast undemocratic places where terrorists are being spawned. The Bush Administration's proclivity to support the aristocrats of the world at the expense of everyone else is raining havoc down on our world as Big Oil lines up to pump out Iraq's oil--Exxon Mobil, Conoco Phillips, Chevron Texaco, even foreign companies as Total, Royal Dutch Shell, and BP. I am not entirely comfortable with this vote. I imagine no Member is entirely comfortable with spending another $100 billion, on top of $379 billion, on the war in Iraq, a war that has now lasted longer than World Wars I and II combined. In my congressional district in Northern Ohio, communities are struggling to revive an unresponsive economy. Families are having trouble making ends meet. In Ohio, we desperately need new roads and bridges and sewers. We need health care and education. But the Bush Administration is obsessed with Iraq. Billions of dollars for Iraq--pennies for Ohio. We are shortchanging our citizens and our children in the name of a failed policy. This vote, however, marks the beginning of the end of the Bush Administration's colossal foreign policy debacle. Our vote today will ensure a beginning to an end of this failed foreign policy that decouples our military from a failed foreign policy, of the immense drain on our purse, an end to the injuries to, and deaths of, our brave soldiers. And an end to the growing disrespect of our great country in every corner of the world. I have opposed this war from the beginning. I said on this same floor in October 2002 that war against Iraq ``will not make America safer, because unilateral military action without broad international support will isolate America further. It will thrust us into the position of becoming a common enemy in a volatile region where anti-western terrorism grows with each passing year. It will not make the region more stable either. The Bush approach will yield more terrorism and instability, not less.'' How I wish that I could say I was wrong in 2002. But what I feared most has come to pass. In December 2005, General Abizaid said: ``The battle against Al Qaeda will not be primarily military. It will be political, economic and ideological. If you look at the geography of Al Qaeda, there is not a place to put a military solution.'' Since returning from Iraq, I have repeated what Generals Petraeus and Odierno said to us: ``Victory is one-third military, two-thirds diplomacy and good governance.'' America has focused all of our efforts on our military campaign, while the Commander-in-Chief has failed to support our soldiers with diplomatic and political efforts to wrap around their operations. Instead, these valiant men and women fall victim to a Commander-In-Chief who has not only bungled the war on terrorism, but utterly failed in his role as Diplomat-In-Chief for our nation. He is isolating America. Why should our soldiers bear the heavy burden of winning when the good governance piece is completely absent? President Bush refuses to listen, refuses to change course. His obstinate attitude is shocking. I am voting for this supplemental precisely because it turns up the pressure on President Bush and forces him to account for his disastrous strategy. The status quo is not an option. This war must end. Although this emergency supplemental spending bill is not a perfect solution to this vast problem, the legislation points the way to a long-overdue course correction. It is important to note: it does so without endangering the courageous and patriotic soldiers serving us in the Middle East. It is an exquisite response to the false choices the Bush Administration specializes in offering to us.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, our community of Northwest Ohio has lost a leader and academic activist whose reach was national in scope. Patrick McGuire lost his battle with cancer on March 18, 2007 and passed from this life at the age of 53 years. A native of Malone, New York, Mr. McGuire was a Toledo, Ohio resident since accepting a teaching position with the University of Toledo in 1987. He continued teaching throughout, but took on the directorship of the university's Urban Affairs Center in 2000. His leadership oversaw an expansion of that institution and a national recognition of his and the center's efforts. His respected research of community sustainability and development, urban sprawl, the creation of a municipal electrical company, and the so called ``brain drain'' of young professionals was nationally known. Equally important to his academic and community leadership, Pat McGuire was dedicated to his personal life. His family and friends knew him to be a gourmet cook who loved fly fishing. We extend our sympathies to his life partner Linda and children Seamus and Erin, his parents, sister and brother, niece and nephew. We know their loss is profound, and hope comfort is found in the memories they share. Perhaps the best summation of the life and work of Patrick McGuire was offered by his successor at the Urban Affairs Center: ``Patrick was a person with a lot of heart, he was tenacious and righteous, and he fought absolutely for what he believed in . . .'' A fine legacy indeed.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, the first day of Spring brought the family and friends of Grace Elizabeth Nash together in celebration of her everlasting life. Grace Nash passed from this life to be with her Savior on Friday, March 16, 2007 at the age of 52 years. A native of Jamaica, Grace Nash graduated from the University of Findlay in 1978. She settled in Bowling Green, Ohio and dedicated her career to elder advocacy. She was the activities director for the Wood County Committee on Aging for 22 years until her retirement, when she took on the challenge as executive coordinator of the Ohio Association of Senior Centers. Grace was talented, giving, and truly invested in the lives of the older adults she served and the younger adults she mentored. Her tenure with the Wood County Committee on Aging was marked by a dynamism and professionalism which was unmatched. Spirituality was woven into the very fibers of Grace's life, and she was the administrator of her congregation, New Life Pentecostals of Toledo Church. Her pastor described her perfectly: Grace ``was passionate, she was a dreamer, she had lots of energy, and she was very spiritual. The people who knew her called her Amazing Grace.'' Indeed she was. With quiet dignity, a ready smile and a helping hand, Grace embodied her name. Grace Elizabeth Nash leaves a legacy to all whose lives she touched, and many who did not have the privilege of knowing her. Among the people who were so privileged, she will be missed. We extend our heartfelt condolences to them, and especially her brother, sisters, nieces and nephews. May they find comfort in their memories and the gift of Grace's life.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Hinchey) for his superb remarks and for his organizing this Special Order in order to express our opinions on behalf of our troops and for a course correction in Iraq and the Middle East in general. When you think about it, we are being asked this week to vote an additional $100 billion in what is called a supplemental, mainly to escalate the war in Iraq, and the money we are voting on will be just for today until the end of September of this year. This $100 billion is put on top of what has already been appropriated to be spent on the war, and it is typical of this administration's mishandling the war and its accounting, always underestimating every year what it will really cost to carry out the activities. If you look at the chart that shows what we are spending in Iraq, it is absolutely escalating every single year. The best advice we were given on a recent trip to Iraq, Afghanistan and the region was from our generals, who said: What does victory mean? Victory means one-third military, two-thirds diplomacy and good governance. The two-thirds is missing. So, therefore, we are asking our soldiers to bear all of the burden of a flawed strategy for Iraq and the surrounding regions that is ripening terrorism in every single country, and we are losing respect. The coalition of the willing has dried up. The neighbors of Iraq have not been convened in a constructive way, and we watch other nations in the region border on destabilization because of what we are doing in Iraq. My deep concern is that the violence could spill over into Jordan, Turkey, Bahrain, Kuwait, Pakistan, Lebanon, even Saudi Arabia. And so America has to face a strategic challenge much larger than Iraq, and the administration is not leading us there. This evening I wanted to say a word about the theater in which Iraq is operating. She is not alone. So many of our soldiers, our patriotic brave soldiers, are in Iraq, and they are the finest military in the world, but they exist in a sea of discontent. And I would like to say that the face of terrorism that we see springs from a view, fair or not, that the United States allies with the rich but not the poor across the undemocratic Islamic world. And how can America stand for democracy in Iraq, but not in all of the oil kingdoms and theocracies to which our Nation has been tethered for most of the last century and now into this century? Why would I say that? I would say that because recent polls in the region show exactly that. It shows that America is viewed as not on the side of rising popular expectations for a more democratic way of life. Rather, we are seen as tethered to an old power structure where the poor remain poor, and the rich, outlandishly rich, and becoming more so; and where religion has become the metaphor for political change of those excluded economically and politically. Unfortunately, the Gallup poll shows how harshly the United States is viewed across the region. Right or not, the people there view us as a promiscuous culture in moral decay, and Abu Ghraib affirmed their views. If we look at our closest ally, Turkey, a valued ally of ours for over 50 years in NATO, the disapproval rating of our country has risen from 48 percent in 2000, and we weren't doing so well back then, to 88 percent this year. So 88 percent of the citizens of Turkey disagree and disapprove of what we are doing. The ruling secular party of Turkey has lost control of its Parliament, and now at the local level who is winning elections in Turkey? Parties that are tending more and more religious. And I am not saying that the religious parties of Turkey are like those of Pakistan or Saudi Arabia, but we have to recognize what is happening across the region as America falls into disrepute. In Pakistan, home to tens of thousands of madrassas, schools funded by Wahabi donors from Saudi Arabia, young boys are being turned out by the thousands to revenge against America. America's favorability ratings in Pakistan have fallen to 27 percent. When we were visiting Pakistan a few weeks ago, a female Parliamentarian was assassinated on the western side of the country, people who are trying to relate to the broader world outside of Pakistan. In Egypt, which signed a peace treaty with Israel three decades ago, 70 percent of the public unfavorably views the United States. And more than 90 members of the anti-American Muslim Brotherhood were elected to Parliament recently, and that Parliament has about as many members as we do. So 90-plus members is a significant number in the Egyptian Parliament. I could go down the list. King Abdullah of Jordan was here a couple of weeks ago. What did he ask us for? Peace now, time is short; peace now, time is short. The U.S. favorability rating in Jordan dropped to 15 percent. Are we paying attention to what is going on? My dear colleague Mr. Hinchey talked about Saudi Arabia, where the majority of 9/11 terrorists had come from. The United States is disliked by three-quarters of the people in Saudi Arabia. So we look at our troops inside of Iraq because the Commander in Chief of this country sent them there, but if we look at what is happening in the region, America is not winning. One of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle just said, just measure the body count. Measure the American losses as a sign of how well we are doing. It is taking us twice as much money every year just to keep the body count where it is now. Look at the casualties. Look at the Iraqi casualties that no one wants to talk about. Look at what is happening in the region. We are not being successful in the war on terrorism, as hard as our soldiers try, because they cannot do it alone. Why are we asking the military to bear the full burden when the diplomatic channels of this government have crashed? Can you believe that the neighbors of Iraq have not been assembled by our Secretary of State in any constructive way now going on 4 years? Unbelievable. Can you believe that we have allowed nations with which we have been friends for 50 years just to fester at the end of a failed diplomatic pipeline? The President's job is not just to be Commander in Chief. It is to be Diplomat in Chief for this country, and yet across that region we see ties that have been forged by this country for generations just ripped into shreds. What a tragedy. I was thinking yesterday, I grew up in an era when John Kennedy talked about the Peace Corps and the great alliance for progress across Latin America. Look at the Latin Americans demonstrating against the United States. We cannot ask our soldiers to fill a gap, a failed diplomacy and failed politics across the region. The world wants change. The world is begging us for change. The world is demonstrating for change. It just is not America that is demonstrating for change. So this evening, Mr. Speaker, I would thank my colleague so very much for allowing me some time to talk about regaining America's standing in the world by correcting what has gone wrong in Iraq. I just might end by saying today in USA Today there was a major story of Poland, people risking their lives going to Iraq, asking the Iraqi people what they think. What it shows is compared to 2005, just a couple years ago, when 71 percent of people in Iraq said their life was fairly good, today it has dropped to 39 percent. In Baghdad, where so many of our soldiers are being sent, what percentage of the people rate their basic household needs as being served by the current regime? You know what the number is? Zero. Zero. Fallen in the last 2 years from 78 percent of their basic household needs. That is like food, water, down to zero. Electricity, you know what percent of the people in Baghdad say their service is good? Zero. Zero, down from only half in 2005. What about clean water? In 2005, 68 percent said they could get clean water. You know what the number is? Zero. How can this be good? How can America win this? How can we ask our soldiers to fill a failed policy? Our soldiers will do anything we ask them to do. We have the best military in the world. We have the most committed generals, the most committed soldiers. We love every single one of them, but we do not want to give them a mission impossible in a sea of discontent where the Diplomat in Chief has abdicated his responsibility to them and to the kind of strategy that can win America friends again. I thank the gentleman for yielding to me, and it is a real privilege to be able to participate in this Special Order this evening.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, the Wall Street Journal reported last week what most Americans may not realize, that for the first time in history, our U.S. military is now guarding the major Iraqi oil pipeline that leads to its major refinery in Bayji. Yes, our brave soldiers from the 82nd Airborne are now maintaining around-the-clock presence at Iraq's largest oil pipeline and refinery to fight the corruption, smuggling and sabotage that characterize Iraq's oil industry, its premier industry. The article talks about the flourishing market in stolen Iraqi oil. It says U.S. military officials estimate that as much as 70 percent of the fuel processed at the plant is lost to the black market, an amount valued at more than $2 billion. Iraq's oil reserves may be the largest in the world. Future access to them is now being determined by a group of people we generally don't see on the evening news. Do you know them? It's important to figure out who those people are and who exactly is now involved in writing Iraq's hydrocarbon law. How transparent are these oil deliberations? Indeed, it is amazing how little we hear about them, as trillions of dollars are at stake. Meanwhile, oil smuggling has earned lots of shady characters hundreds of millions of dollars since the beginning of the war. Why did we let this go on? Until now, we can catch Saddam Hussein in the spider hole, and yet somehow we could not figure out who is smuggling Iraqi oil? Americans deserve answers to so many questions. Who has been earning the money from the oil smuggling? Which global oil companies will benefit once the U.S. leaves Iraq? What percent of oil resources in Iraq will be left for the Iraqi people? Traveling to Iraq and Kuwait a few weeks ago, I had the chance to witness how technology and power systems transformed endless deserts into oil supply lines. It is an awesome sight. Yet I couldn't help but ask, what is America doing in these deserts? Who does our oil addiction benefit? How have we let ourselves become tied to oil dictatorships? Why do we pay nearly $400 billion a year to import petroleum rather than become energy-independent ourselves here at home? Our able colleague, Congressman Bill Delahunt of Massachusetts, gave me a book last week, and I looked on page 96. This is called ``The Price of Loyalty,'' by Ron Suskind. It explains how Donald Rumsfeld used our Defense Intelligence Agency to map Iraq's oil fields and lists companies that might be interested in leveraging the precious asset long before the Iraqi war was declared. Judicial Watch obtained Mr. Rumsfeld's map through a Freedom of Information request because Mr. Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz would not share it voluntarily. Imagine that. Our taxpayers footed the bill for this map to benefit private firms. The book attests Rumsfeld and his cohorts in the Bush administration were not concerned with legitimate reasons to go to war; they only concerned themselves with how and how quickly to penetrate Iraq's oil fields. Mr. Wolfowitz had written as early as 1999 that the United States should be committed, should be prepared to commit ground forces to protect a sanctuary in southern Iraq where the opposition could safely mobilize. As we pay dearly for this violent war, and our soldiers die in Iraq, just coincidentally we have to remember the world's largest untapped oil reserves are in Iraq. Most other nations in the Middle East have guarded their oil reserves as national treasures, but I will tell you what: Halliburton, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, ChevronTexaco and foreign companies like Total, Royal Dutch Shell and British Petroleum have been identified by reporters like Antonia Juhasz, who said last week in the New York Times, these oil companies would not have to invest their earnings in the Iraqi economy, partner with Iraqi companies, hire Iraqi workers or share their new technologies. In fact, she says, only 13 of the 80 oil wells, oil fields in Iraq would be for the Iraqi people. The other ones are being bargained away as the hydrocarbon law is written. Why do we hear so little about this on our evening news? John Perkins, in his book ``Confessions of an Economic Hit Man,'' talks about how Saudi oil money through petrodollars has been reinvested in our economy, holding up so many of our equities and certainly our U.S. Treasury securities. Why can't America become energy-independent at home? Why do we have to be dependent to the 20th century view of dependency on foreign oil? ``Almost immediately after the [1973 oil] embargo ended,'' Perkins writes, ``Washington began negotiating with the Saudis, offering them technical support, military hardware and training and an opportunity to bring their nation into the twentieth century, in exchange for petrodollars and, most importantly, assurances that there would never be another oil embargo.'' Congress did not negotiate this--the overall management and fiscal responsibility lay with the Department of the Treasury, and according to the book, the ensuing agreement, which was negotiated in intense secrecy, ``fortif[ied] the concept of mutual interdependence.'' The very goal of this agreement was to ``find ways that would assure that a large portion of petrodollars found their way back to the United States'' so that ``Saudi Arabia would be drawn in, its economy would become increasingly intertwined with and dependent upon ours'' and, of course, we on them. It is a ridden economy. Is this the America you want? Do you want U.S. soldiers risking their lives guarding Iraqi oil? I want an America free of counterproductive foreign entanglements. I want an America free of support for dictatorships, no matter how tempting their treasures. I want an America free of foreign oil. I want to invest our dollars here at home in energy independence--in solar, wind, hydrogen, clean coal, new turbine systems, fuel cells and so much more. I think most Americans, if they understood the extent to which we are hurting ourselves, would want the same. Some global interests are getting so filthy rich year after year, that they would risk a free America for the sake of their bloodied oil profits. It's worth changing how we do business in order to regain our freedom. [From the Wall Street Journal Europe, Mar. 15, 2007] Iraq's Oil Smugglers Are Targeted (By Yochi J. Dreazen) Bayji, Iraq--Adding another facet to Washington's new pacification plan for Iraq, U.S. and Iraqi forces have launched an aggressive campaign to curb the oil smuggling that is destabilizing the fragile Baghdad government and helping to fund insurgents. In concert with stepped-up military and reconstruction initiatives across Iraq, U.S. troops for the first time are maintaining a round-the-clock presence at the sprawling oil refinery here, Iraq's largest. Soldiers from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division are cracking down on illegal gas stations, arresting refinery workers suspected of corruption and using sophisticated data-sifting methods to identify which senior Iraqi officials might have ties to black-market oil rings. The Iraqi government, meanwhile, has begun what it calls Operation Honest Hands, which puts the entire refinery under Iraqi military control. Iraqi Army soldiers are physically monitoring each of the facility's pumps and entrances, assuming many of the responsibilities previously held by a paramilitary security force employed by the Oil Ministry that was widely considered corrupt and ineffectual. Iraqi troops are also escorting many convoys of fuel trucks from the refinery to destinations around the country. The move represents another course change for the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush as it struggles to craft a new approach for stabilizing Iraq. U.S. and Iraqi officials have long been aware of the flourishing market in stolen Iraqi oil but largely turned a blind eye because Washington feared that stationing American soldiers in major refineries would spark a nationalist backlash and renew accusations that the U.S. invaded Iraq for its oil. The Iraqi government, meanwhile, felt its modest security resources were better used directly fighting insurgents. But officials from both governments have concluded recently that oil smuggling had become too big a problem to ignore any longer. The loss of so much output to the black market is sharply reducing the Iraqi government's main source of revenue: About 94% of Iraq's $32 billion budget last year came from oil revenue. The stolen oil also gives Iraq's insurgent groups a ready source of income, helping to perpetuate the country's civil war. ``Disrupting the insurgent funding is our main job,'' said 30-year-old Capt. Kwenton Kuhlman, who is leading the antismuggling operation at the Bayji refinery. ``I'm under no illusions--we can't stop it. It's too big. But we can try to disrupt it.'' Iraq produces some 2 million barrels of oil a day, but U.S. and Iraqi officials believe the figure could rise as high as 5 million barrels a day with improved security and new infrastructure. Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein helped create the black market in oil in response to economic sanctions imposed in the wake of the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War. Mr. Hussein used smuggling, as well as kickbacks on oil sold legitimately through the United Nations' oil-for-food program, to generate cash for his regime and to reward allies at home and abroad. The stepped-up fight against smuggling has no guarantee of success--and risks triggering more political and economic turmoil. Senior Iraqi officials regularly pressure the Americans to call off specific investigations or release individuals detained for suspected involvement in the black market, feeding Washington's suspicions that oil-related corruption extends deep into the government. The enormity of the task facing the soldiers from the 82nd Airborne was evident on recent visits, and underscores the broader challenge Americans face in turning more security over to their Iraqi counterparts. Several tanker drivers said Iraqi soldiers at the plant had already begun asking for bribes. The drivers also said they don't want to be escorted by Iraqi troops for fear of attracting insurgent attacks. ``I want coalition forces to guard this place, not the Iraqi Army,'' driver Suhaib Adil Kareem said. ``The Iraqis don't care about the law.'' Widespread oil smuggling siphons off as much as $5 billion per year. At the Bayji refinery--one of three in the country [U.S. military officials estimate that as much as 70% of the fuel processed at the plant is lost to the black market, an amount valued at more than $2 billion per year.] Iraq's parliament will soon debate a landmark petroleum law that would clear the way for direct foreign investment in the battered oil sector and set out rough guidelines for distributing oil revenue among Iraq's 18 provinces. But U.S. and Iraqi officials warn the new law will have little substantive impact unless the smuggling is brought under control. The endemic oil-sector corruption is a financial boon to insurgent operations. A classified U.S. government report in November estimated Iraqi militants earn $25 million to $100 million every year by stealing tankers full of fuel, smuggling oil to other countries, carrying out kidnappings for ransom, and charging protection money from truckers and gas station owners. ``The fuel that is stolen comes back as bombs, mortar shells and Katyusha rockets,'' said Hamad Hamoud al-Shakti, the governor of the Salahaddin province, home to the Bayji refinery. The black market is fueled by three factors. Baghdad heavily subsidizes gasoline and other oil products, and the resulting low prices mean they can be resold at enormous profit in neighboring countries. The government also doesn't verify that gas-station owners--who are entitled to receive 100,000 liters of fuel per week--sell to retail customers instead of on the black market. The biggest issue, though, is pervasive corruption. U.S. and Iraqi officials say refinery workers routinely allow tankers to pick up fuel without any paperwork, which makes it easy to sell off the books. Police officers demand bribes of as much as $1,000 to let tankers pass through checkpoints or for ``protection'' along routes, the officials say. And some government officials work directly with smugglers or secretly own gas stations and fuel trucks, giving them a share of money earned through illicit sales, U.S. officials say. ``You're talking about corruption at basically every level,'' says Maj. Curtis Buzzard, the Harvard-educated executive officer of the brigade conducting the interdiction push. ``And it's deeply entrenched.'' As part of the campaign, the U.S. in coming months will spend more than $12 million to install video cameras to monitor the refinery's pumps and new digital scales to weigh trucks, making it easier to see if truckers are carrying more fuel than they were meant to receive. The money will also be used to build parking lots designed to protect drivers from extortion and insurgent attack. Over the past few months, U.S. and Iraqi forces already have quietly begun arresting officials suspected of playing central roles in black-market rings. As far back as September, Iraqi forces arrested Ibrahim Muslit, who ran the Bayji refinery's oil-distribution operation, after he allegedly allowed 33 tankers in a single day to receive fuel without any paperwork. In January, U.S. troops arrested Ahmed Ibrahim Hamad, a senior transportation official at the refinery, after he allegedly tried to help smuggle out seven tankers of heavy-fuel oil. Both men are in custody and unavailable for comment. Now, U.S. commanders say they are conducting investigations of senior officials from the Bayji city council, the local police force and the provincial and national governments. The American officers say they have made about 40 arrests since the crackdown began in earnest in early February, when the Iraqis formally joined the campaign, and they hope to make additional arrests in coming weeks. During a surprise inspection of the refinery's gasoline and diesel pumps one afternoon, Sgt. Stephen Truesdale noticed that the analog display on one of the machines showed it had pumped 4,000 liters more than the facility's handwritten records indicated. ``He helped steal 4,000 liters of gas,'' Sgt. Truesdale, a former North Carolina police officer, said of the heavy-set Iraqi man who had been manning the pump. ``The pumps don't lie.'' The refinery worker insisted he was innocent, but Capt. Kuhlman, the brigade leader, told his men they had enough evidence to arrest him. On the way back to their base, the U.S. forces saw a large fuel truck parked on the side of the road, surrounded by pickup trucks carrying overflowing oil barrels. The 18 Iraqis at the site freely admitted they had purchased the fuel from a tanker driver who had left the refinery a short time earlier. The men said they made such purchases several times a week and resold the oil to factory owners and other small businesses in neighboring towns. The American forces ordered the Iraqis to drive their pickups back to the refinery, where the men were searched, photographed and escorted onto a pair of open-backed military vehicles for transport to holding cells at the U.S. installation. The following day, Capt. Kuhlman told a room full of refinery officials and trucking-company executives about the arrests. Shakir Hamid, a businessman who said his partner had been kidnapped from the refinery months earlier, shook his head. ``In Saddam's time, oil smugglers were hung,'' he said. ``And I release them after two days,'' Capt. Kuhlman replied, shrugging his shoulders. ``But it's a start.''

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, marking Women's History Month, I would like to commemorate the life of a woman in our district, Joyce Snow Feather Mahaney. Though she passed away last year, her memory and her spirit continue. She is truly a woman who made a difference, and whose efforts echo beyond her lifetime. The great-great-granddaughter to Chief Kaishpa Gourneau, great-great- granddaughter to Chief Sasswain, Henry Poitra and great-great-great- great-granddaughter to Chief Gaytay Manomin (Old Wild Rice), a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Joyce Mahaney grew up on the Turtle Mount Reservation in Belcourt, North Dakota. Her Indian name Snow Feather (Koonea Meguen) was given to her by her great- grandmother, Cecelia Malaterre. A Naming Ceremony was done by her adopted father, Francis Eagle Heart Cree of Turtle Mountain, who is also the local spiritual leader and medicine man in the area. She attended the Ojibwe Indian School, Turtle Mountain Community High School, and Minot State University where she received a degree in Education. She also attended the American Indian Training Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico and the University of Toledo. She came to Ohio in the 1970s following her marriage to Toledo native, Russell Mahaney. They raised two children. In 1988, Joyce Snow Feather Mahaney founded the Toledo-based American Indian Intertribal Association. The purpose of the organization is to preserve and showcase American Indian culture through community activities. Her incredible leadership has developed the Association as a premiere showcase of Native American culture, language, and spirit. Several hundred Native Americans participate in the organization's ongoing activities such as: The Toledo Pow Wow, cultural programs, and the annual summer solstice ceremony at the site of the Battle of Fallen Timbers of 1794. An adult education teacher, she was also Executive Secretary at the Toledo Museum of Art, served as executive director of the Cleveland Drug and Alcohol Prevention Program, and director of the Eagle Wing Program in Toledo and other Native American programs in northern Ohio. Although she spent the last three decades of her life in Ohio, Joyce Snow Feather Mahaney has maintained her deep roots in the Turtle Mountain area, visiting family and friends and offering presentations in the community which captured the spirit of the indigenous people, the sacred land of her ancestors and the rich cultural heritage of the Plains Ojibwe. An award-winning poet, she has written and self-published poetry books, Prairie Winds and Spirit of Dakota. In fact, the threads of this Ojibwe Prayer were woven deep into the fabric of the life of Joyce Snow Feather Mahaney, and describe her legacy most eloquently. Ojibwe Prayer Oh Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds And whose breath gives life to everyone, Hear me. I come to you as one of your many children; I am weak .... I am small... I need your wisdom and your strength. Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunsets Make my hands respect the things you have made. And make my ears sharp so I may hear your voice. Make me wise, so that I may understand what you have taught my people and The lessons you have hidden in each leaf and each rock. I ask for wisdom and strength Not to be superior to my brothers, but to be able to fight my greatest enemy, myself. Make me ever ready to come before you with clean hands and a straight eye. So as life fades away as a fading sunset. My spirit may come to you without shame.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) and also Congressman Kendrick Meek from Florida, two 30-somethings who are outstanding leaders in this Congress, bringing new energy and new vision. I thank them for yielding me this time. We will have extensive debates on the budget concerning the supplemental request for the war in Iraq, the global war on terrorism, and other related measures tomorrow and later next week. But as we are debating this and looking at sending another $100 billion across the oceans, halfway around the world, to support our troops and to try to reach resolution to that conflict, I want to bring to the attention of the American people a very serious issue here at home, one that is making headlines all over the United States. This is USA Today's headline, ``Record Foreclosures Reel Lenders,'' and ``Subprime Troubles Send Stocks Into Swoon.'' The issue of mortgages across this country going belly up by the thousands should be of concern to every Member of this Congress. The stock market this week has been roiled by concerns over the financial health of largely unregulated mortgage brokerage institutions that have been irresponsibly issuing mortgages in what is called the subprime market across this country and much of that market targets consumers with less than stellar credit ratings or who are at the margins of home ownership in this country. They have been luring them into mortgages they can't afford, and as those mortgages adjust to higher interest rates in the third, fourth, fifth and subsequent years, they go belly up. We saw yesterday the connection between the fast rate of foreclosures and the health of our economy when the Dow dropped 243 points as a reaction to the dramatic rise in these foreclosures. As USA Today recounts in the first paragraph, ``The reason many mortgage lenders are in trouble became alarmingly clear Tuesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said more than 2.1 million Americans with a home loan missed at least one payment at the end of last year, and the rate of new foreclosures hit a record.'' Companies like New Century Financial, the Nation's second largest subprime lender, have quit making loans and are edging towards bankruptcy protection. There is a map in the article that shows certain States, and I am going to discuss my own now, that are far above the national average where we know thousands upon thousands of people are losing their homes. Ohio was the number one State in the Union to date with these mortgage foreclosures, three times the national average. They are estimating that in the next year and a half, over 250,000 more home mortgages will reset, and they are estimating that the financing gap in Ohio for this year and next year now totals somewhere between $14 billion and $21 billion. That is just Ohio. Add to it Alabama, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, West Virginia. This is a problem of national proportion. There is plenty of blame to go around, but there is no question it is a serious issue that should be given primacy in this Congress. I want to compliment the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) for holding hearings yesterday on hedge funds, the unregulated part of the financial markets that is rather secretive. We don't know a lot about them, but we know many times they are involved with intertwining with these types of loans that have been going out into the marketplace. We know our weak economy contributes to the situation, but also the failure of the past Congress as well as State legislatures to address predatory lending practices and to try to nip this problem in the bud before it became so much worse. There is another side to this coin as well, and that is the large number of campaign contributions made by these hot-shot lending brokerage firms that have been making deals across this country; and that story, unfortunately, has to come out, too, and perhaps why some lawmakers have been unwilling to grapple with the magnitude of this problem and prevent the kind of foreclosures that are going on across the country. Let me say that this USA Today article and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development have a phone number that I urge citizens to call: 888-995-HOPE. 888-995-HOPE. This line will connect those who are concerned about losing their homes to foreclosure with foreclosure prevention counselors nationwide. That is something we can do immediately. In the measure we will pass next week, we will make every effort possible to put in housing counseling money, and I would urge the Department of Housing and Urban Development to target those dollars to the areas that are just bleeding with foreclosure after foreclosure after foreclosure. State and local governments could do a lot to help homeowners find help also, particularly in working out financing deals. I think Wall Street is going to have to take some losses. They ought to take them earlier rather than later. We ought to package some of this debt, and we ought to find a way to eat some of it and move some of those egregious profits they are making into filling the financing gap, because what good will it do for us to have millions of housing units across this country vacant? It is not going to help anybody. We know in these subprime markets, they don't set aside escrow money for property taxes, and we know this is going to have a major effect on local government as well. Mr. Speaker, I just want to say the President and his administration are focused on rebuilding Iraq, but somebody had better focus on rebuilding America and dealing with these rising foreclosure problems across the country. I will be the first in this Congress to put my shoulder to the wheel. I want to thank Congressman Meek for yielding me this time and thank him for his leadership in showing how much money we are spending in Iraq and how it is affecting our ability to address domestic needs here that coast to coast are so very serious. [From USA Today] (By Adam Shell) Subprime Troubles Send Stocks Into Swoon depth of damage in mortgage business concerns investors The ripple effect of the ``submerging'' subprime mortgage market hit Wall Street hard Tuesday, with the Dow suffering a 243-point drop amid growing fears that home loan woes will infect other companies and hurt the broader U.S. economy. In another volatile day on Wall Street, stocks were battered by a slew of negative news in the home loan arena, prompting investors to wonder just how deep the damage in the mortgage business will turn out to be. ``The market fears that the submerging subprime lenders could drag down other companies with it,'' says Sam Stovall, chief strategist at Standard & Poor's. ``Investors fear credit will dry up,'' which will make it harder for people to borrow money to buy homes and for companies to raise much- needed cash in a pinch. Tuesday's biggest losers were financial companies that either lend money directly to homeowners or provide cash to the lenders themselves. Shares of subprime and commercial lenders, investment banks and brokers all finished deep in the red. The top two decliners in the Dow Jones industrial average, for example, were American Express, down 3.5%, and JPMorgan Chase, down 4.4%. Pain in that sector is magnified by the fact that financial services is the biggest of the 10 industry groups in the Standard & Poor's 500 index, accounting for almost 22% of the index's total market value. Still, the fallout was broad-based. The Dow fell 243 points, or 2.0%, to 12,076, its worst drop since Feb. 27, when it plunged 416 points. The S&P also dropped 2%, with 487 of its 500 components finishing lower. The three worst S&P industry groups were home building, specialized finance and investment banks/brokerages. The bad news in mortgage land continued to pile up around subprime lenders as New Century Financial shares lost 49% and Accredited Home Lenders fell 65% on concerns their financial woes will worsen. The S&P's worst-performing stock: Bear Stearns, a big Wall Street brokerage with subprime exposure, fell 6.7%. The big question now is whether Tuesday's sell-off, like the Feb. 27 plunge, is just air being let out of the speculative balloon, or whether more serious economic issues are at play, says Nicholas Sargen, chief investment officer at Fort Washington Investment Advisors. ``Yeah, we are going to see a general tightening of credit standards and a crackdown on subprime lenders,'' Sargen says. ``If you say it stops there, that is nothing new. But, and it's a big but, nobody knows for sure.'' Investors will be watching what Lehman Bros. says about the health of the mortgage market and if the damage is isolated to subprime lenders when it reports earnings Thursday. Says S&P's Howard Silverblatt: ``They will be looking to get more info as to how much exposure there is and who else is exposed.'' [From USA Today, Mar. 14, 2007] Record Foreclosures Reel Lenders (By Noelle Knox) The reason many mortgage lenders are in trouble became alarmingly clear Tuesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said more than 2.1 million Americans with a home loan missed at least one payment at the end of last year--and the rate of new foreclosures hit a record. The problem is most severe for borrowers with scuffed credit and adjustable-rate mortgages. More than 14% of them were behind on their payments. And the worst is yet to come, the MBA said. At least $300 billion in subprime ARMs will reset this year to higher interest rates. Those borrowers face higher payments and a harder time refinancing. Blindsided by the number of loans that have already gone bad, more than two dozen lenders have gone out of business or been purchased. New Century Financial, the nation's second- largest subprime lender, has quit making loans and is edging toward bankruptcy protection. ``There's been a stunning erosion of mortgage quality,'' said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. ``It's primarily in the subprime market, but the entire market is weakening . . . and that adds to problems in the housing market, and by extension the broader economy.'' Retailers are already feeling the effect, he said, because homeowners tend to spend less when they fear their homes are worth less. To stem their losses, lenders are ending 100% financing plans, requiring better credit scores and demanding more proof of a borrower's income. The stricter rules are squeezing first-time buyers, as well as homeowners who want to refinance. Sellers, meantime, must compete with a rising number of foreclosures at cut-rate prices. Lenders that seize control of a house are usually aggressive about selling it, to limit the cost of maintaining and marketing it. It's like a one-two punch, Zandi says. ``It means less demand because many potential borrowers will be locked out,'' just as foreclosures expand the supply of homes for sale. Some economists, such as Patrick Newport of Global Insight, had been expecting the real estate market to rebound soon. Now, he says, ``We probably won't see a recovery in the housing market until next year.'' In fact, sales of new homes are expected to fall 10% this year, while sales of existing homes are likely to slip about 1%, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. States with the most job losses are seeing the largest number of delinquencies. In Mississippi, Louisiana, West Virginia, Michigan, Alabama, Missouri and Tennessee, at least one in five subprime ARMs is in default. In the final quarter of last year, 0.54% of homeowners with a mortgage began foreclosure proceedings--a record--up from 0.46% in the third quarter. Calls from distressed homeowners to the Homeownership Preservation Foundation, a free credit counseling service (888-995-HOPE or 888-995-4673), have more than doubled from last summer.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, the American Center of Polish Culture today presented Dr. James C. Metts, Jr. an award to recognize his research on the fate of General Casimir Pulaski's remains. Dr. Metts, coroner of Chatham County, Georgia, served as the chairman of a 10-year investigaton to positively identify General Pulaski's remains. Mr. Kingston and I want to congratulate Dr. Metts upon receiving this award. The birthday of Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski in George Washington's Continental Army was marked for the first time on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, March 6, 2007, the 262nd anniversary of his birth in Warsaw, Poland. To celebrate the occasion, the National Polish Center (also known as the American Center of Polish Culture of Washington, DC) sponsored a birthday breakfast at the Rayburn House Office Building. Among those who came were sponsors of the resolutions to make Pulaski an honorary U.S. citizen and other notables from Congress and the Polish-American community. The featured speaker, Dr. Thaddeus Radzilowski, was president of the Piast Institute in Detroit, Michigan, and former president of St. Mary's College in Orchard Lake, Michigan. Dr. Metts was recognized for his leadership and report on General Pulaski, whose remains were found September 1996. They had been buried in a crypt under the Pulaski Monument in Savannah, Georgia, since 1853, though Pulaski had been widely rumored to have been buried at sea. Edward Pinkowski, internationally known authority on General Pulaski, was the chief sponsor of the Pulaski identification project. Pulaski's remains were examined by forensic specialists in Savannah since 1996. Dr. Metts said the remains are ``consistent in remarkable detail with the physical appearance, life history, and cavalry lifestyle of Casmir Pulaski.'' Pulaski's remains were re-interred in October 2005 in front of the monument in Savannah's Monterey Square. At the Washington event, a wreath was laid at the heroic-size marble bust of Pulaski located in the Capitol Building. The bust was carved by Henry Dmochowski (1810-1863) from Carrara marble and moved to Capitol Hill in 1882. According to Jack Pinkowski, Ph.D., vice chairman of the National Polish Center, ``this first birthday celebration at the Capitol is important because it identifies Pulaski's correct birth date as March 6, 1745. It also gives us an opportunity to recognize the 10 years of work of Dr. Metts and his team in Poland and in the United States. Casimir Pulaski was born and raised in Warsaw, the son of Count Joseph Pulaski, a member of the Polish parliament (Sejm). The young Pulaski won his reputation as a guerilla fighter in Poland's struggle for independence. Political intrigue forced him to leave Poland in 1772, and he spent time in Turkey, Germany, and France. He went to America in 1777 with a letter of recommendation from Benjamin Franklin, who was solicited by Pulaski's friends. Pulaski was commissioned by the Continental Congress as a brigadier general to command four cavalry regiments and later formed the Pulaski Legions. Among his exploits in the American fight for freedom were saving George Washington's life and the successful defense of Charleston in May 1778. He was wounded at the Siege of Savannah on October 9, 1779, and died on board the ship Wasp. He was secretly buried on Greenwich Plantation next to Thunderbolt Bluffs on the banks of the Wilmington River next to the plantation where the Wasp was tied up to a finger wharf and where Samuel Bullfinch, captain of the Wasp, wrote a letter that notified General Benjamin Lincoln of Pulaski's death. He said that Pulaski died on board his ship on October 15. Pulaski remains a symbol of Polish courage, Polish initiative, and Polish friendship for the United States. We thank Dr. James C. Metts, Jr. for his efforts to remind us of this American Revolutionary War hero, and congratulate him on his receipt of the American Center of Polish Culture award.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield further on that point, recently, about a week ago, Hershey Chocolate announced it was going to move its operations out of Pennsylvania to Mexico. They have already been testing those Hershey Kisses, those big ones they are making down there now and the taste has changed. I am thinking, where is the old Hershey bar that used to taste so good? You look at all the jobs in Pennsylvania associated with all the dairying that goes on and then the processing. They say that they are going to save the tourist center, but it won't be real any more, because the jobs won't be there, both in the plant itself and in the countryside that provides the raw product into Hershey. So you ask, why are we allowing ourselves to be hollowed out like this? Wall Street is really in a pitched battle with Main Street across this country, and we have to fight here to save those middle-class jobs.

Ms. KAPTUR. Congressman Michaud, Congresswoman Sutton and Congressman Braley, I wanted to come to the floor tonight and say it is so wonderful to have you here in this beloved House, to try to course correct on a direction that the United States has been heading in the wrong direction now for over two decades. And with the new energy that you represent and the new leadership, I have no doubt that when fast track comes up for reauthorization later this year, we are going to stop it dead in its tracks and begin turning our country around again. I just wanted to run to the floor just for a couple of minutes to put some notes in the Record and to say that for 23 years Congress has really doled out to the executive branch our trade-making authority under Article I, section 8. If you go back to 1975 when fast track was first passed, the United States had trade balances up until then for almost the entirety of our history. Then as you look at each succeeding agreement, whether you go to 1993 and NAFTA, we were already amassing trade deficits after the first fast track was passed back in the seventies. Then when PNTR with China was passed, plus NAFTA, plus all the other agreements that were signed, we moved into the most historic deficits represented by the lost jobs that Congresswoman Sutton talked about, that Congressman Braley talked about, Congressman Michaud you talked about and personally lived through. So we have seen real wages stagnant with those jobs lost. We have seen our jobs move overseas to the lowest-wage countries in the world, the most undemocratic. We have seen child labor flourish. We have seen bonded labor come back into our country as a result. We have global warming taking hold as our environmental regulations are really overturned under agreements like NAFTA. Illegal immigrants stream across our borders because they are treated like they have no value in their home countries. Our trade deficit continues to soar, and the drug trade locks in heavily. So I wanted to come down tonight and present some of these figures and say that there is a pattern to history now. You are like the second wave. You are coming in here. Those of us who fought so hard against NAFTA in 1993, those of us who tried so hard to course-correct, we never had the votes. Unfortunately, it was so close; it was so very close. But people hadn't lived the washout. You now represent places that have experienced the results of this. So we look forward to this coming vote this summer. It is such a joy to have you here, and I just wanted to thank you for your really determined leadership and for the people who voted you here so that you could come to Washington and make a difference. We so very, very much need your voices here. When Fast Track expires at the end of June this year, Congress can reclaim our authority granted by Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution ``to regulate commerce with foreign nations.'' For 23 years, Congress and the working class watched the executive branch commandeer U.S. trade policy. We also saw real wages stagnate, American jobs move overseas, child labor flourish, global warming take hold, illegal immigrants stream across our borders, our trade deficit soar, and the drug trade thrive. Like many of us here, I receive thousands of letters, phone calls, and e-mails from my constituents asking me to take action on these important issues. While there is no one cause for any of these problems, Congress cannot ignore how U.S. trade policy impacts the full range of issues affecting Americans and the world. Congress must respond to the American people who demand action from us. Congress has yielded enough power to the executive branch. If we renew Fast Track and continue to cede our Constitutionally-granted authority, we will only render ourselves more helpless in the face of a broken immigration system, economic instability, an environmental crisis, and a burgeoning drug trade. Our previous trade agreements may not have been the sole causes of these emergencies, but trade policy is the key to solving them. Congress needs to examine the root causes of our immigration problem and the exploitation of workers across the Americas. When the leaders of U.S., Mexico, and Canada signed NAFTA 14 years ago, they turned their backs on working men and women across the continent. The agreement continues to chip away at the U.S. economy, leaving millions jobless and accumulating a staggering and growing trade deficit with Mexico, now totaling a record $64.1 billion for 2006. At the same time, NAFTA ravaged the Mexican economy and destroyed the farming and agricultural sectors. This so-called ``free trade'' agreement has prompted hundreds of thousands of Mexicans to look for an escape from their worsening destitute circumstances to the U.S., and in doing so they risk their lives, the unity of their families and their futures. U.S. trade policy upsets more than just our immigration crisis. Our faltering trade policy has also contributed to the global environmental emergency. When the Bush Administration entered into CAFTA, they did so with countries which rarely enforce their already limited environmental policies. Many of my constituents have already contacted me about the devastating environmental consequences of the Peru Free Trade Agreement. How can Congress fight global warming in the U.S. while allowing our trade rivals to destroy the rain forests and retain lax emissions standards? We must use trade as a tool to protect the environment, not to pillage it. Lopsided flawed trade agreements weaken our economy. Since NAFTA's passage, over one million U.S. jobs were sucked into Mexico. Because of PNTR, more than 1.5 million jobs shipped out to China. After two centuries of trade surpluses, NAFTA ushered in an era of soaring trade deficits, even after proponents promised us bigger surpluses. More recently, President Bush's trade policy in particular has caused more damage to our trade accounts. The trade deficit has climbed to record numbers each year since he took office in 2001. From $362 billion his first year to a whopping $763.6 billion last year, this President has been selling the U.S. to the highest foreign bidders. Our constituents are calling Congress to action. Without the authority to regulate commerce with foreign nations, Congress cannot effectively respond to these crises. Congress must stand for free trade among free people, and ensure that all Americans have access to middle class jobs at middle class wages with health and retirement benefits that cannot be rescinded. We must oppose Fast Track, reclaim our negotiating authority from the executive branch, and answer the pleas of the American people.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I am deeply saddened to stand before our House today to announce the tragic death of Detective Keith Dressel of the Toledo Police Department and offer deepest condolences on behalf of our entire community to his wife, Danielle, and their children. Detective Dressel, who was only 35 years old, was fatally shot on the morning of Wednesday, February 21, while on routine patrol in North Toledo, the first Toledo police officer to lose his life in service to our community since 1970. In reality, though, there is nothing routine or common about Detective Dressel's extraordinary service or that of the men and women with whom he served. Every day Detective Dressel sacrificed his safety so that he might protect all of ours. As a member of the vice squad, Detective Dressel engaged in dangerous work that frequently placed him in high-risk environments. He did this not for glory or praise, but to serve and protect residents from all walks of life. Charlotte Bronte's poem ``Life'' teaches us: ``What though Death at times steps in And calls our Best away? What though sorrow seems to win, O'er hope, a heavy sway? Yet hope again elastic springs, unconquered, though she fell; Still buoyant are her golden wings, Still strong to bear us well. Manfully, fearlessly, The day of trial bear, For gloriously, victoriously Can courage quell despair!'' On the fateful day when lives were changed forever, the painful call went out: ``Attention all units. Detective Keith Dressel has answered his final call.'' The Toledo Blade newspaper reports today: ``The final radio call to the slain Toledo police vice detective, a taped broadcast played at the conclusion of his funeral Mass yesterday, broke somber faces into tears.'' The impact of this terrible tragedy has touched every corner of our community and beyond. We have all been moved by Keith Dressel's sacrifice, commitment, and courage, as well as that of his family. On behalf of the citizens of Toledo, Ohio, and all of the lives Detective Dressel has touched, I offer our deepest sympathy to Detective Dressel's loved ones, colleagues, and friends. May their faith sustain them through the difficult journey ahead as they remember the words of Psalm 46, versus 1 and 2: ``God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the Earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.'' May their strength as a family and their memories of their husband, father, brother, nephew, uncle, grandson, son, and friend sustain them as they mourn his loss and celebrate his selfless legacy of patriotism, purpose, and service to his fellow citizens. His children should be comforted by the knowledge that life is not measured in years but in deeds. Detective Keith Dressel lived as a man for others, despite the danger and sacrifice to his own. May he rest in peace in God's house as an archangel watching over and guiding our earthly pursuits. The Blade describes this hero's funeral: ``Two lines of officers--at least two people deep--wove through the parking lot. Three to four other lines of officers stood at the front doors of the church, including Toledo police Chief Mike Navarre and Toledo fire Chief Mike Bell. ``After a private ceremony for the family, Detective Dressel's flag- draped casket was escorted from the funeral home to a white hearse with a small American flag on the driver's side door. White-gloved Toledo police honor guard members stood on both sides of the hearse. Three rows of Cleveland Police Pipes and Drums members in full garb played and led the slow procession to the church. Officers lining the way saluted as the hearse passed. ``At the church, pallbearers in dark suits slowly pulled the casket from the hearse. The casket was blessed with Holy Water before being wheeled into the sanctuary. Inside, the U.S. flag covering the casket was removed and replaced with a white pall. . . More than 2,000 people filled Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Temperance for a funeral Mass for the 35-year-old husband and father of two. Detective Dressel's wife, Danielle, 32, held the couple's 4-year-old son, Noah, as the family was escorted inside the church. The Mass ended with Detective Dressel's last call, bagpipes, a prayer, and a hymn. Law enforcement officers streamed out of the church and formed more than a dozen rows in front of the front doors. Music from bagpipes and drums filled the background. The officers saluted as the casket was placed inside the hearse. The procession from the church to St. Anthony's Cemetery involved more than 1,500 police cars and other vehicles from dozens of states. Dozens of firefighters from the Toledo Fire Department and other area communities stood single file along the west side of Jackman Road leading to two fire aerial trucks forming an arch at Jackman and Temperance Road. The firefighters saluted the passing hearse and procession. The extended aerial ladders held an American flag, which blew south to north in the wind. The Toledo police mounted patrol unit joined the solemn procession, including for a time a riderless horse with boots backward in the stirrups, and led it to the cemetery. Along the way, residents stood at the ends of their driveways and schoolchildren stood with their hands over their hearts. Across the road from the cemetery, citizen mourners and officers stood silently in the cold, sometimes biting breeze, for the hearse and the clip-clop of the horses. Mrs. Dressel acknowledged those standing along the side of the road The start of the graveside ceremony was delayed to allow mourners-- many of them law enforcement officers--to park and walk more than a mile to the small, fenced cemetery for a final tribute to the fallen hero. A shorter service included The Lord's Prayer, which many officers said aloud. The American flag on Detective Dressel's casket was folded into a triangle and given to his widow. Seven officers fired a three-volley shotgun salute as officers snapped their own salute. ``Taps'' echoed through the air. ``Amazing Grace'' was played on the bagpipes as snowflakes slowly fell from the sky. As the Dressel family shared a last, private moment near the detective's casket, red-cheeked officers sniffled as they filed out of the cemetery. Detective Dressel was hired by the Toledo Police Department in 1993. Held in high esteem by his colleagues, this fallen hero will be remembered as a devoted public servant who was committed to his work and to his family. Despite his challenging work, Detective Dressel never compromised his integrity or sacrificed his sense of humor. Evidence of his legacy is clear in the heartfelt eulogies: Officiating at the Mass, his priest, Father Nusbaum said, ``Before Keith's laughter will fade away from this Earth, we'll hear it in a blink of an eye. That wonderful laugh.'' His police chief Michael Navarre said, ``We honor a true hero, a young man who dedicated his life to this community . . . ``I salute you [Keith]. We all salute you and a life well lived.'' It is reported that ``Ken Dressel, Detective Dressel's uncle, said one of the happiest days of his nephew's life was when he was accepted into the police academy. Only second to his family, the slain detective was most proud of his badge. `As much of a cop as he was--doing some of the most dangerous work in Toledo--we would often see him sitting on the floor playing with the children at family gatherings.' '' The impact of this terrible tragedy has touched every comer of our community and beyond. We have all been moved by Keith Dressel's sacrifice, commitment, and courage as well as that of his family's. We recall in excerpt the lines of Longfellow's poem, What the heart of the young man said to the psalmist. Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; Dust thou art, to dust returnest, Was not spoken of the soul. Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, Is our destined end or way; But to act, that each to-morrow Find us farther than to-day. Art is long, and Time is fleeting, And our hearts, though stout and brave, Still, like muffled drums, are beating Funeral marches to the grave. In the world's broad field of battle, In the bivouac of Life, Be not like dumb, driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife! Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant! Let the dead Past bury its dead! Act,--act in the living Present! Heart within, and God o'erhead! Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time; Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing o'er life's solemn main, A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, shall take heart again. Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait. On behalf of the citizens of Toledo, Ohio, and of all the lives Detective Dressel has touched, I offer my deepest condolences to Detective Dressel's loved ones, colleagues and friends. Without a doubt, our community is better because he served. Detective Dressel will not be forgotten. May their faith sustain them through the difficult journey ahead as they remember the words of Psalm 46, verses 1-2: ``God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.'' May their strength as a family and their memories of their husband, father, brother, nephew, uncle, grandson, son and friend sustain them as they mourn his loss and celebrate his legacy.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to recognize a gentleman in our district, Mr. Clarence Seavers of Sandusky, OH, who will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Erie County Democratic Party on February 23, 2007. Our former colleague and Ohio Governor Ted Strickland will present Clarence with the inaugural award. I know of no finer person to receive this distinguished recognition in its first year than my friend, Clarence Seavers. Wherever one goes in Erie County OH, there will be Clarence Seavers. Well into his eighth decade of life, Mr. Seavers remains an active community participant. Not one to seek the glory of leadership, he is nonetheless a community leader in the truest sense, leading us by example to be good citizens. A lifelong resident of Sandusky, Mr. Seavers is a WorId War II veteran, and was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame for his service with the 811th Aviation Engineering Battalion. He served the whole of U.S. involvement, 1941-1945, building airfields in the Pacific Theatre. Following military service, Mr. Seavers joined the ranks of the civil service, working as a clerk for the U.S. Postal Service for 30 years until his 1978 retirement. In addition to his presence at many community events, Mr. Seavers has also formally given of his time in numerous ways. He has served on the boards of the YMCA, Goodwill Industries, Providence Hospital, Firelands Regional Medical Center, Erie County Board of Elections, Erie County Health Department, Chamber of Commerce, Boy Scouts and Erie Huron Community Action Commission. He is a lifetime member of the NAACP and a member of St. Stephen's AME Church. He volunteers as a baseball umpire and at the Ohio Veterans Home. His community calls him ``one of Erie County's heroes and treasures,'' a sentiment I echo. Yet, true to the man, Clarence Seavers says of his involvement, ``I just tried to give something back. As long as you're able, you can never give back too much.'' Clarence Seavers has never been one to hide his light beneath a bushel. Instead, he has let his light shine forth in guidance. Quiet, humble, with graceful dignity, he is a fine example of the best that is in us. He has been a wise counsel to me, and countless others, and we dearly value his friendship. Clarence Seavers has spent his lifetime in achievement, and I am so honored to share with my colleagues a glimpse at the embodiment of a true American patriot as I congratulate Clarence Seavers on his receipt of this distinguished recognition.

Ms. KAPTUR

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, for generations Hershey's chocolate has been an American symbol. Soldiers abroad distributed it to smiling children. Across our country people everywhere recognize the distinctive shape of Hershey kisses. Now Hershey's, too, is being outsourced to Mexico, as the great sucking sound of outsourced jobs accelerate in our country. Yesterday, the Hershey Company announced it was moving 1,500 more manufacturing jobs to Mexico, terminating 1,500 U.S. workers and all the dairy farmers that supply work and product into that company. Hershey now joins the ranks of Hoover, Stanley, Champion, Ford, Chrysler, Huffy, Zebco, Levi's and Maytag, who have shipped thousands more U.S. jobs to countries where workers toil for starvation wages. Now President Bush wants to renew more of the same fast-track trade authority, to ship more of these jobs to Mexico and other trade rivals. He wants to sell our economy to the highest bidders in foreign countries. NAFTA, CAFTA, PNTR and its cousin agreements have broken the middle class. Congress is long overdue to stand up for them. We must take back the authority to regulate commerce with foreign nations and start creating good jobs in our country again. It is time to stop fast track.