Dennis Kucinich

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the bill. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the bill/rule. I would like to thank Chairman Wolf and Ranking Member Sabo for all the hard work they've put into this bill. On June 1st of this year, Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation finalized their acquisition of Conrail. As a result of this acquisition, train traffic through parts of my district, has increased significantly. The rail crossings in these cities literally split the cities in half, and increased traffic has been causing traffic back-ups and delays. With the Chairman's assistance and with commitments from NS and CSX and the State of Ohio, funds have been secured to construct grade separations at three different rail crossings in my district. When construction is completed, residents in Berea, Olmsted Falls and Olmsted Township will be relieved of traffic backups and delays as a result of train traffic. In too many cases they will still have to contend with train whistle noise. Once the grade separations are built, trains will not be required to sound their whistles when passing those specific intersections. Several densely populated neighborhoods in my congressional district will, however, experience an increase in whistle noise from passing trains. Many of these homes are located within 30 to 40 feet of the railroad tracks, and the increased traffic through this area means increased noise for these residents. Currently, Federal regulations require each lead locomotive to have a warning device that produces a sound level of 96 decibels at least 100 feet ahead of the locomotive. The State of Ohio requires trains to sound their whistles 1,320 feet before a crossing and continuously while passing through it. In addition, all major railroads have operating rules that require their engineers to blow train horns--normally four consecutive times-- at highway-rail grade crossings as a warning to motorists and pedestrians. These regulations were implemented to protect public safety, but the disturbance train whistles cause nearby residents should be addressed. In 1994, Congress passed the Swift Rail Development Act which directs the Federal Railroad Administration to mandate the use of train horns at all public crossings. This legislation also allows for ``quiet zones'' whenever communities establish alternatives that provide the same level of safety at crossings as that provided by train whistles. The FRA is in the process of drafting new regulations on train whistles and ``quiet zones.'' I have written to Secretary Slater on the issue of quiet zones. I have proposed that the railroad tracks through the 10th District be designated as ``Pilot Corridors'' and be used to demonstrate the use of supplementary safety measures that would provide the same level of safety as the sounding of a locomotive horn. The pilot corridors would include Norfolk Southern's Nickel Plate Line, which runs through some of the very densely populated residential neighborhoods. The stretch of the Nickel Plate Line through Lakewood includes 27 at-grade crossings within 2.7 miles of track. The other tracks that should be included in the pilot corridors are the Conrail Mainline through Berea, Olmsted Falls, and Olmsted Township; and the stretch of the Berea-Greenwich line that runs through Berea and Olmsted Falls. All of these tracks are experiencing significant increases in freight traffic due to the operating changes of the Conrail acquisition. While I understand the importance of warning motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists at these crossings, my constituents are being awakened in the middle of the night by train operators that blow their horns loud and long. There must be a way that we can have safe railroad crossings without the railroads being a nuisance to residents living near tracks. Through a pilot corridor demonstration project in my district, we can use some of the latest safety procedures to ensure safety while protecting the peace and quiet of the neighborhoods. Photo-enforcement, median strips, 4-quadrant gates, long arm gates, one-way paired streets, and enforcement/education efforts are among the most up-to- date supplementary safety measures available that may help maintain safety while keeping peace in our residential areas. I applaud the FRA in its efforts to draft and implement quiet zone regulations, and I hope that a portion of the funds appropriated in this bill can be used for that purpose. I believe we can maintain the safety of these rail lines while making areas like the cities in my district quieter environments in which to live.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Bangladesh Cultural Alliance of the Midwest on the occasion of the Tenth Annual Convention. The BCAM was established in 1990 to unite the ethnic resident Bangladeshis of the Midwest region for preservation and promotion of Bangladeshi culture, and to promote friendship and greater understanding between the peoples of Bangladesh and America. So far seven states have taken pride in promoting this ideal. Every year BCAM organizes a cultural program that includes Bangladeshi dances, dramas and songs by participants from each state. Bangladeshi cuisine, a fashion show, and special performances by prominent performing artists from Bangladesh are the highlights of the program. In addition, discussions on issues related to the role of ethnic Bangladeshis in the community are carried out in a friendly environment. Promoting cultural diversity and tolerance of other cultures, BCAM is a wonderful example of how to protect cultural diversity while at the same time promoting harmony. I salute the Tenth Annual Convention of Bangladesh Cultural Alliance of the Midwest and commend its work on promoting cultural and religious diversity and tolerance among all the people in the United States.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, Madam Speaker, my father, Frank Kucinich, senior, was a truck driver and he drove a truck for 35 years, and he was proud of the work that he did, and he was also proud to be a member of Local 407 of the Teamsters Union. I grew up with a heritage of believing in the importance of people belonging to an organized labor group, and as I was growing up, I saw how my father would attend union meetings. And I would have the occasion to go with him to some of those meetings. And I heard people talk about their desire for a better wage, not just for themselves, but for their families. I heard people talk about the desire for improved health care benefits, not just for themselves, but for their families. I heard people talk about retirement security, not just for themselves, but for their families, and so what I saw in growing up in Cleveland, Ohio was men and women coming together to try to improve not only their lot but the lot of their families. All across this country, working men and women are going to work every day with the intention of building a better quality of life, and the only way they can do that is to stay united, and that is what unions are all about. In unity there is strength. And across this country, men and women have been able to have a better wage level and because of that have helped to assure higher wages in the nonorganized sector. Across this country, men and women have been able to have better health benefits, better retirement benefits because they have united, and that is something that is profoundly American. We have communicated to the world this idea that in unity there is strength, and through working men and women organizing we have demonstrated that even the humblest person should have an opportunity to have a position at the table of great power and that the humblest person in joining with others can have some control over his or her destiny and over his or her quality of life. I am glad to be part of a Democratic Party which supports working men and women.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, on June 10, 1999, I joined with Rep. Cynthia A. McKinney, Rep. Barbara Lee, and Rep. John Conyers in hosting the fifth in a series of Congressional Teach-In sessions on the Crisis in Kosovo. If a lasting peace is to be achieved in the region, it is essential that we cultivate a consciousness of peace and actively search for creative solutions. We must construct a foundation for peace through negotiation, mediation, and diplomacy. Part of the dynamic of peace is a willingness to engage in meaningful dialogue, to listen to one another openly and to share our views in a constructive manner. I hope that these Teach-In sessions will contribute to this process by providing a forum for Members of Congress and the public to explore options for a peaceful resolution. We will hear from a variety of speakers on different sides of the Kosovo situation. I will be introducing into the Congressional Record transcripts of their remarks and essays that shed light on the many dimensions of the crisis. This presentation is by Edward Herman, Professor Emeritus of Finance, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He taught for a decade in the Annenberg School of Communications at Pennsylvania State University, with a course in Analysis of Media Bias. He is a professional economist and media analyst. He is also a renowned author with some 20 blocks on economics, political economy, and the media. Among them are The Political Economy of Human Rights (2 vols, 1979, with Noam Chomsky) and Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of Mass Media (with Noam Chomsky, 1988). Professor Herman exposes the manner in which the mainstream media has uncritically adopted a variety of ``loaded words'' that present a distorted and misleading impression of the reality of the War in Yugoslavia. One by one he dissects terms such as ``credibility'' and ``negotiations,'' and describes the cynical manipulation of phrases such as ``collateral damage'' and ``genocide and ethnic cleansing.'' He concludes that ``western hostility to genocide and ethnic cleansing has been highly selective,'' citing a number of severe humanitarian crises in which the United States and NATO chose to do nothing. Following Professor Herman's remarks is an article authored by him, along with David Peterson, that appeared in Z Magazine. This article, entitled ``Bomb the New York Times?'', discusses the hypocrisy of the western media when it justifies the bombing of Serbian media installations because of the Serbs' lack of ``balance'' in their treatment of the war.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. McCollum) for his kind remarks regarding this amendment. It seeks to build on the intentions that he had in the last Congress, and I certainly appreciate his support and the support of all of my colleagues on this. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I wish to offer an amendment to this bill that would assist States in compiling the records of juveniles and establishing statewide computer systems for their records. In addition, States would have the option of making these records available to the NCIC at the FBI where they would be accessed by law enforcement officials from other States. Similar language for such a system of records already exists in the Senate- passed juvenile justice bill. The reason I offer this amendment is a tragic story from my own district. A Cleveland police detective, Robert Clark, was killed in July 1998 while attempting to arrest a drug dealer. The individual who shot Detective Clark had accumulated a considerable criminal record between Ohio and Florida. Although he was only 19 years old at the time of the shooting, he had been arrested 150 times since the age of 8. There had been 62 felony charges laid against him between 1995 and 1998. However, officials in Ohio were unaware of his criminal activities in Florida, and vice versa. In addition, there was an outstanding warrant for this individual's arrest in Florida at the time of the shooting. Had an automated records system been in place when he first appeared before a juvenile court in Ohio, law enforcement officials in Ohio would have had access to this extensive criminal record in Florida. I remain a strong supporter of civil liberties for all citizens. Therefore, it is important that access to these records be strictly controlled to maintain the privacy rights of every citizen. In addition, States should not be mandated to share juvenile records information with the FBI. Rather, they would have the option of sharing their juvenile records information should they choose. My amendment has received the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police in which they say, ``The ability to share and obtain information about criminals' records is crucial to the law enforcement mission. This legislation addresses the pressing need for better and more efficient recordkeeping on violent juveniles, information that would stop crimes and save lives.'' Mr. Speaker, at this time I will include the above-referenced letter for the Record. Fraternal Order of Police, Washington, DC, June 15, 1999. Hon. Dennis Kucinich, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Congressman Kucinich: I am writing on behalf of the more than 277,000 members of the Fraternal Order of Police to advise you of our strong support for your amendment to H.R. 1501, the ``Consequences for Juvenile Offenders Act of 1999.'' Your amendment will enable law enforcement officials to improve record-keeping and record-sharing on juvenile offenders. Your bill would enable States to apply for Federal grants to establish, develop, update or upgrade State and local criminal history record systems to include the conviction records of violent juveniles. These grants will assist State and local law enforcement authorities in compiling and computerizing statewide systems with the records of violent juvenile offenders with the option to make this data available to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and law enforcement authorities in other States. The ability to share and obtain information about criminals' records is critical to the law enforcement mission. Your legislation addresses the pressing need for better and more efficient recordkeeping on violent juveniles--information which could stop crimes and save lives. On 1 July 1998, Detective Robert Clark of the Cleveland Police Department and Correy Major, a 19-year-old from Florida were killed in a gun battle. Major was first arrested at the age of eight. By the time he was killed last July, he had amassed over one hundred and fifty prior incidents with police on his record. Major was arrested on yet another offense the night before he killed Detective Clark, but because law enforcement officers in Cleveland, Ohio were unaware of his extensive criminal record as a juvenile in Florida, he was released from custody. Because Ohio and Florida were unable to share information about this dangerous and violent criminal, only hours later a brave and dedicated officer was dead. I commend you for your leadership on this important issue on behalf of the membership of the Fraternal Order of Police. If I can be of any further help, please do not hesitate to contact me or Executive Director Jim Pasco through my Washington office at (202) 547-8189. Sincerely, Gilbert G. Gallegos, National President. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor one of the USWA's most respected leaders, Frank Vickers. Over the past 30 years, Frank Vickers has dedicated his life to work extremely hard for the Steel Workers of Ohio. He joined the USWA in 1957, and since that time he has served as Local 5684 President, District 30 Organizing Coordinator, Ohio Legislative Coordinator and the Ohio Legislative Representative. Frank has chaired USWA negotiations with LTV Steel, Timken, American Steel Foundries, Amsted Industries, Armco, Inc. and Republic Engineered Steels. Frank has also served as Vice President of the Cincinnati AFL- CIO Central Labor Council. Frank Vickers has been a dedicated USWA worker for the last 30 years. In that time he has made tremendous strides in improving the productivity of the USWA. Through his efforts the USWA has expanded their influence all over the country in order to benefit the steel workers. Frank has not only been a successful advocate for steelworkers but has also been a dedicated family man. His efforts are greatly appreciated by all the members of the USWA. He is not only a hard worker, but a good friend to all. My fellow colleagues, please join me in honoring this dedicated man, Frank Vickers, for 30 years of serving the Steelworkers. I would like to wish Frank the best of luck and good fortune in the future.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, on May 20, 1999, I joined with Representative Cynthia A. McKinney, Representative Barbara Lee, Representative John Conyers and Representative Peter DeFazio in hosting the fourth in a series of Congressional Teach-In sessions on the Crisis in Kosovo. If a lasting peace is to be achieved in the region, it is essential that we cultivate a consciousness of peace and actively search for creative solutions. We must construct a foundation for peace through negotiation, mediation, and diplomacy. Part of the dynamic of peace is willingness to engage in meaningful dialogue, to listen to one another openly and to share our views in a constructive manner. I hope that these Teach-In sessions will contribute to this process by providing a forum for Members of Congress and the public to explore options for a peaceful resolution. We will hear from a variety of speakers on different sides of the Kosovo situation. I will be introducing Congressional Record transcripts of their remarks and essays that shed light on the many dimensions of the crisis. This presentation is by Jeff Cohen, a columnist and commentator who is founder of the organization Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR). Mr. Cohen appeared at this Teach-In with Seth Ackerman, a Media Analyst at FAIR. Mr. Cohen is the author of four books and appears regularly as a panelist on Fox News Watch. He has also served as a co-host of CNN's Crossfire. Prior to launching FAIR in 1986, Mr. Cohen worked in Los Angeles as a journalist and a lawyer for the ACLU. Mr. Cohen presents a superb critique of how the media is covering the War in Yugoslavia, describing the importance of the words and concepts that are being deployed. He talks about the reluctance of the media to even use the term ``War,'' and the concerted attempt to demonize Slobodan Milosevic. He decries the fact that the media has not paid sufficient attention to the legality of the war, the destruction of the civilian infrastructure, and the steady stream of NATO propaganda that the media has adopted without question. Following this presentation are several documents--one from London's The Independent Newspaper and the other from FAIR--which further document these points. Presentation by Jeff Cohen of Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting It's not a glamorous job, but someone has to monitor Geraldo and Christopher Matthews every night, and that's what we do at FAIR. Seth Ackerman, my colleague, and I, and a bunch of staff members monitor the nightly news, the talk shows, the print press. We were monitoring Chris Matthews on May 4, and he was railing against President Clinton for trying to dump the war and its failures on Secretary of State Albright. Matthews questions ``is that gentlemanly conduct, to dump this on a woman?'' It was the same show when he was interviewing Senator McCain and Matthews said, ``Are we going back to that old notion of the president as a leader, not a consensus builder?` Senator McCain: ``I hope so.'' Matthews: ``John Wayne, rather than Jane Fonda?'' McCain: ``That's my only chance.'' Matthews: ``Cause, you mean, you're not running as Alan Alda here?'' Senator McCain: ``No.'' Matthews: ``You're running as John Wayne, more or less.'' McCain: ``That's the only way I can succeed.'' Matthews: ``Well, you're doing well. Thank you Senator McCain.'' That's what we call a journalistic wet kiss. It's particularly unusual here from two guys who are trying to be so macho at the time. The first problem with the war coverage is that many mainstream media outlets, especially network TV, are loathe to even call it a war. It reminds me of the first day of the Panama invasion before the government had signaled to the media that it was ok to call it an invasion. So you had mainstream media calling it a military action, an intervention, an operation, an expedition, a military affair. One TV anchor even referred to it as an insertion. I think that a more accurate explanation might be ``the most unusual and violent drug bust in human history''--but no one put that heading on it. So look at today. What are the logos? CNN: `Strike against Yugoslavia.' Fox News: `Conflict in Kosovo.' The Consensus winner used at CBS, NBC, and ABC: `Crisis in Kosovo.' I would argue that there had been a crisis in Kosovo. It went on throughout 1998, but no one in any of these networks could find time for even a one hour special on what was then a crisis in Kosovo. That's because that was the year of ``All Monica, All The time.'' So when there was just a ``crisis in Kosovo,'' TV didn't cover it. Now that it's a war, TV won't acknowledge it's a war. The White House and the State Department will not use the word ``war''--and then the media adopt the euphemisms from the government, they're acting more as a fourth branch of government than they are as a fourth estate, and that's very dangerous. We need only think back to the early years of the 1960s when U.S. government officials would refer to Vietnam as a ``police action.'' At best it was the ``Vietnam conflict.'' And in the early years of the 1960s many mainstream media followed the government lie and did not call it a war until many American soldiers began dying. So words matter. Then we have the problem with this war of who the enemy is. As usual in our mainstream media, the U.S. is not making a war against a country, Yugoslavia, but against one individual. His name is Slobodan Milosevic. On TV the air war is not something that's terrorizing lots of people in what were once modern cities. It's basically a personalized soap opera. You had Catherine Crier on Fox News on May 5, seemingly with a broad smile on her face, saying ``The bombing intensifies. Just how much can Slobodon stand?'' Anchors talk to military experts about how badly Milosevic has been hurt, how badly he has been humiliated. You'll hear an anchor say to a military expert, ``How much have we punished Milosevic?,'' and you expect that the anchor might get up from behind the anchor desk and show that they're wearing a U.S. Air Force uniform, but they're not. They're using the term ``we'' as if they're an adjunct to the military. We heard the same thing during the Iraq war. ``How much are we punishing, humiliating, hurting Saddam Hussein?'' We know now that probably one of the only people in all of Iraq who was assured of a safe place to sleep and three square meals a day, and a warm home, was Saddam Hussein. And similarly, Milosevic may well be one of the most safe and secure people in Yugoslavia today. Now the understandable goal of the White House and the State Department and their propaganda is to demonize Milosevic. Propaganda simplifies issues as it tries to mobilize action. But journalism is supposed to be about covering a story in all its complexity. On that score, Journalism has largely failed. You'll remember the Newsweek cover photograph, with the picture of Milosevic and the headline: ``The Face of Evil'' Then you had the Time magazine writer who writes about Milosevic almost as a sub-human--with ``reddish,'' piggy eyes set in a big, round, head.'' Now, assumedly, Milosevic had the ``reddish, piggy eyes set in a big, round, head'' going back many, many years. But it's only when the American war machine goes into war mode that this particular writer at Time magazine goes into war propaganda mode. The good news with the end of the Lewinsky story is it ended the wall-to-wall parade of attorneys. The bad news, with the beginning of this war, is we've begun the wall-to- wall parade of military analysts. On March 24th, for example, Margaret Warner introduced her PBS NewsHour panel with, ``We get four perspectives now on NATO's mission and options from four retired military leaders.'' The problem with retired generals is that they're rarely independent experts. They have a tendency to become overly enthusiastic about how smart and accurate our weapons are. You remember all the false hype from the militar experts during the Guld War about the Patriot missile, a missile that was an object failure during that war. And you might remember NBC News did a blowing report about the Patriot, and Tom Brokaw said it was ``the missile that put the Iraqi Scud in its place.'' Completely false. Brokaw neglected to mention that his boss, General Electric, made parts for the Patriot missile, as if makes engines for many of the aircraft like the Apache helicopters that are in the Balkans right now. Military experts don't remember that it was only last summer when a cruise missile aimed at an alleged terrorist train camp in Afghanistan went four hundred miles off course into the wrong country the country of Pakistan. If we think about it, in the last nine months, the United States has bombed four countries intentionally. It's also important to remember that the U.S. has bombed an equal number of countries by mistake. Military experts know a lot about anti-aircraft technologies, they know a lot about bomb yields, but they don't know much about the politics or history of the region. What's needed more in the mainstream media are experts on Yugoslavia and the Balkans. And what we need is a real debate about the war. Because of the split among the politicians here in Washington, there's been slightly more debate over the war, for example, the Gulf War. That's not really saying a lot. Our organization, FAIR, has posted on our website (www.fair.org) a full study of two prestigious TV news shows and the range of debate or non- debate during the first two weeks of this war. I'm talking about PBS's NewsHour and ABC's Nighline. If you look at that study, you'll see that in the first two weeks of this war, opposition to the bomb war was virtually inaudible and when it was heard it was mostly expressed by Yugoslav government officials with thick accents, or Serbian Americans. On Nightline there was only one panelist who was critical of the bombing, and that a Yugoslav government official. It's partly because of the marginalization of substantive critics of the war that there has been not enough attention in the mainstream media focused even on the legality of this war under international law. What will happen under our Constitution next Tuesday when the sixty day period elapses on the War Powers Act and President Clinton has not won Congressional authorization? That should be an issue that's a raging debate in the American media today. I haven't even seen it in a footnote in today's newspapers. Maybe I missed one. There's been not enough attention paid in the mainstream media to the environmental damage in the region from U.S. bombs striking petrochemical factories and fertilizer facilities and oil refineries. There has been not enough attention in the mainstream media paid to NATO's targeting of civilian infrastructure. Whether, for example, the bombing of the broadcast stations, which is a clear violation of the Geneva Convention, was really aimed at keeping video of NATO's civilian victims off the television sets in the western countries. I have a hunch that was its real motive. Not enough mainsteam media attention has been paid to the use, or possible use, by the United States of radioactive depleted uranium rounds. Not enough attention has been paid to NATO's propaganda, and a steady stream of claims that have turned out to be false. The Independent newspaper, based in London, on April 6, 1999, published an article collecting about eight of these falsehoods. I would argue that from our monitoring, the mainstream media in Europe have been more independent in their coverage of this war, more skeptical in their coverage of this war, than the U.S. mainstream media. And there has not been enough attention paid to the events immediately before the war. The best estimate of how many people had died in Kosovo in all of 1998 was 2000 people. That's a serious human rights crisis. It's also less than the number of people who died in homicides in New York City in 1992. We need to look at the events that immediately led up to this war.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Father John Wilson. Father Wilson was a former diocesan director of the deaf Apostolate, a longtime pastor of St. Timothy Church in Garfield Heights and was a chaplain for ten years at St. Edward Home in Fairlawn. He was a greatly loved man who was dedicated to helping the deaf community. He began working with the deaf community at his first assignment as assistant pastor at St. Collumbkille Church in Cleveland. When this parish closed, he continued his work with the deaf community as diocesan director of the deaf Apostolate. During his tenure as diocesan director of the deaf Apostolate, Father Wilson built up one of the largest communities in the country. Father Wilson was a very devoted man who, even when his own health was a risk forcing him to retire as pastor, continued to help the people in his community. This selfless dedication is something that should be recognized, praised and encouraged in our communities today. My fellow colleagues, please join me in honoring this great man, Father Wilson. He will be greatly missed.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of one of Cleveland's greatest softball players, Betty DeSanto. Betty DeSanto has been a dedicated sportswoman all her life. She has been a part of many softball teams and has won countless city titles. She was even inducted into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Greater Cleveland Slow Pitch Hall of Fame in 1991. Betty DeSanto was a person who not only played the sport well, she exemplified great sportsmanship. As the assistant manager and later as the manager of the Cudell Recreation Center, she organized various sports teams and encouraged both boys and girls in their athletic pursuits. She is an inspiration to all who participate in sports and with a little dedication, love and heart you can go on to achieve greatness. My fellow colleagues, please join me in honoring this great sportswoman, Betty DeSanto. She was a very talented athlete and she will be greatly missed.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. I yield to the gentleman from Minnesota.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentleman yielding time to me, and for having the opportunity to have a colloquy with the distinguished ranking member. I would say to the gentleman from Minnesota, plans have been submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration to expand Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, and the expansion of the airport is a sensitive issue for the community I represent. The expansion is expected to involve a sharp increase in airport traffic. For example, the airport is already expected to experience an increase of 200 daily flights this summer, and the current level of aircraft noise is very disruptive to peoples' lives. Further increases will cause more suffering. Protection of these residents against current levels of noise and pollution must be addressed before any new expansion plans are considered. I would appreciate the guidance of the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) as to how this bill would be able to assist my constituents.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my sincerest congratulations to the students of Birchwood School in Cleveland, OH who won at the local and state levels of the National History Day competition. These students are now competing at the national level. National History Day is a program for students to study and learn about historical issues, ideas, and events. It is a program that allows students to academically excel and gain intellectual growth throughout the year. During the year students develop critical thinking and problem solving skills. The theme for 1999 is ``Science, Technology, Invention in History: Impact, Influence, Change.'' After analyzing and interpreting their information on the topic, the students then present their findings in papers, exhibits, performances and media presentations that are evaluated by historians and educators. The following 15 students placed in the top two spots at the state competition and are participating in the national competition this week. They either worked individually or in groups: Patrick Costilow, Henna Gn, Nancy Brubaker, Jacob Stofan, Katie Tropp, Elyse Meena, Grace Hsieh, Christy Kufahi, Joanna West, Benjamin Wong, Samuel Chai, Imran Farooqi, Paul Ibrahim, Joseph Grabo, Richard Yurko. These students have dedicated a substantial portion of their time on their projects. It was an intense year for the students at Birchwood School, but their hard work and motivation have paid off. They placed at the top at local and state awards and are now on their way to winning the nationals. I would like to express my congratulations to the 15 students at Birchwood School for their achievements at local and state level competitons and I wish them luck in the national competition. Birchwood School should be proud of the 15 students for their accomplishments. I urge my colleagues to join me in congratulating all those involved for a job well done.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, on May 20, 1999, I joined with Rep. Cynthia A. McKinney, Rep. Barbara Lee, Rep. John Conyers and Rep. Peter DeFazio in hosting the fourth in a series of Congressional Teach-In sessions on the Crisis in Kosovo. If a lasting peace is to be achieved in the region, it is essential that we cultivate a consciousness of peace and actively search for creative solutions. We must construct a foundation for peace through negotiation, medication, and diplomacy. Part of the dynamic of peace is a willingness to engage in meaningful dialogue, to listen to one another openly and to share our views in a constructive manner. I hope that these Teach-In sessions will contribute to this process by providing a forum for Members of Congress and the public to explore options for a peaceful resolution. We will hear from a variety of speakers on different sides of the Kosovo situation. I will be introducing into the congressional record transcripts of their remarks and essays that shed light on the many dimensions of the crisis. This presentation is by Rick Newman, Senior Editor covering defense for US News and World Report. He began covering military affairs in 1995, and to date has reported on a wide spectrum of defense issues from overseas operations to the future of military technology. He was awarded the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Defense Reporting for his work in 1996. Mr. Newman graduated from Boston College in 1988 with B.A.s in English literature and economics. Mr. Newman relates his first-hand experience with the treatment of journalists by the military during periods of wartime. He discusses the key lessons that he believes the military has learned over the years about how to advance their propaganda by manipulating public opinion through a willing press corps. Following these remarks is an article by Mr. Newman about how NATO bombings have pulverized Yugosavian targets and caused widespread suffering in the civilian population. Presentation by Rick Newman OF U.S. News and World Report One formula for starting a story is to begin with some anecdote that illustrates a larger point you want to get across. That's how I'm going to start today, with an anecdotal lead. I'm the defense reporter for US News; my job is to cover the military, down to the soldiers who fight in the field, the airmen who fly the planes, and so on. About three or four months ago I had made arrangements with the army to ``imbed,'' as they say, with any army troops who got involved in some kind of campaign in Kosovo, whether that be peacekeeping which it looked like at the time, or whatever. They said ``Roger that,'' (that's what they say in the army) and everything looked like it was in order. I told them that I wanted to get a good ``imbedding'' slot with the command part of this group. That means I would deploy with them, I would basically live with them. I would be one of them in a way, except I wouldn't carry a weapon, and I'd see what they do from their perspective. So this was all going along fine, and Task Force Hawk, this group of helicopters, gets deployed to Albania. They call me up and say, ``Are you ready to deploy? You're going to be in the hip pocket of the commander for this thing. You're going to be able to see how he runs this show.'' And I said, ``That sounds great.'' I eventually got my way over to Europe, told them what day I was going to show up. I had to go down to Fifth Headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany, get outfitted with ``mop gear,'' which is the chemical weapons protection stuff that goes from head to toe. They gave me a Kevlar helmet and a flack vest; I made a reservation to fly into Albania the next day and join up with them. That night I got a call from the public affairs guy with Task Force Hawk in Albania. He said, ``Just want to check in with you, Rick, and I just want to advise you of something. The commanders here, someone pointed out to them a story that you wrote about indicted war criminals in Bosnia last year and military efforts to track down some of those people. And this was a story that revealed some details about secret operations and so on, and the guy said, `Having seen that story they just don't feel they can trust you anymore, and you're no longer welcome to embed with the command element of Task Force Hawk.' '' So I said, ``That's wonderful news. Thank you very much. I'll head back home.'' That's about how the first 4 to 5 weeks of this war went, in terms of relations between the press and the military. The press was largely kept outside the gates, outside the fence, looking in, trying to figure out what was going on, not getting a lot of information on what was going on, very sparse statements coming out. In the last four weeks or so that has improved. NATO and the Pentagon have been releasing more information, and I've had some better opportunities personally to cover some of the people who are actually fighting this war, to find out how they do it, what they think about it, and so on. But this is a problematic war in terms of coverage by the press. There is tension in all wars between the military and the press that's trying to cover them. I think it's worse in this case. The war is not going well. Clearly it's not going well. You don't have to be a genius to see that the stated aims of the people who launched this are not being achieved, and on the military side there are rules designed to limit access by the press even more than usual. For instance, General Clark, who's the four-star general in Europe running this thing, instituted essentially a gag rule on all of his subordinate commanders. They have been forbidden to talk to the press-- absolutely forbidden, on the record or not--and you can imagine the sort of effect that has had down the chain for people who are not technically commanders or subordinate commanders. They technically could talk but they don't want to risk stepping outside that rule. So this has been a very difficult war to cover, in terms of just finding out what is going on. I think we are getting more information about what is going on because, ironically, official Serb TV is broadcasting it and that gives us some material to go back and pry information we otherwise wouldn't be getting out of these people. For me this boils down to what I am going to call ``three lessons learned.'' This is what they do in the military after something is over or while it is going on: they figure out what the lessons learned are. So I am just going to go through three here. First lesson learned for me is that no news is bad news. If the Pentagon is not telling you what's happening in an operation, it's probably because what's happening is not good or does not appear to be favorable to the Pentagon. I believe this was the case for the first four weeks, when they would not say anything about how many sorties they were flying, what kinds of weapons they were using, what they were doing, what they were accomplishing. The fact is that they were accomplishing almost nothing. It was one of the weakest starts to an actual war in recent times, and that was reflected in the fact that not much was happening. On the other side it was a demonstrable failure, because all these ethnic Albanians were being flushed out of Kosovo. Second lesson learned is that the body count mentality is alive and well, only these days we're not counting bodies, we're counting targets. We get this rundown of targets at the Pentagon every day. They'll say, for example: ``Last night we struck eighteen target sets, there were 96 dimpies (a particular aim point on a target), today we've flown such and such sorties.'' This all seems to beg the question of how this is relevant to the objective of the war. We've heard more about these counts that supposedly demonstrate success than we have about how this war is actually doing in accomplishing the goals stated by President Clinton and others at the outset. That's something to watch out for. I think the press has been somewhat gullible in this. My third lesson learned is that the spokesmen for this war, the spinmeisters, are in many cases smarter than the press. I think the propaganda campaign has been very successful. I think the Pentagon and NATO have managed to find slow news days to get their message across. I think they have distracted attention on a regular basis from the observable fact that this war is not accomplishing what it is supposed to accomplish. I'll run down a list of a few things here. One of my pet peeves has been the headlines that say ``NATO Intensifies Air War.'' We see this headline almost every week. Technically you could drop one additional bomb per day and you'd be intensifying the air war, which is nearly what has been happening. I think that this is less intense than any air war any member of the air force can recall. That's the nature of this graduated campaign. I'll also mention briefly some of the claims from the podium at the Pentagon and the podium at NATO headquarters about atrocities. These are interesting standards for reporting this sort of thing. I'm thinking, for instance, of the rape camps. When Ken Bacon, the Pentagon spokesman, first mentioned the rape camps he was pressed about the source of the information, and it turned out the source was one person, probably an indirect source, and probably a member of the KLA. I don't think that that's the standard the Pentagon usually applies, and I know that if we apply that standard in journalism we get criticized for having low standards. That seems to be the standard these days. Another example is the Secretary of Defense saying, ``We have reports that up to a hundred thousand ethnic Albanians may have been murdered.'' I seriously doubt they have evidence that a hundred thousand have been murdered. I think they have evidence that something less than ten thousand have been murdered. We'll see how this gets sorted out when this war is over. The last thing that has kind of bothered me is everything that the press has been making out of various weapons systems. First it was the A-10, the low flying attack plane. We were just waiting for the A-10 to get into the action back around week two or week three. This is the thing that flies low under certain circumstances that don't exist in Yugoslavia yet. It flies low and can blow up dozens of tanks on a pass with its thirty-millimeter gun. The New York Times had a picture of the A-10s being deployed to Italy. The A-10 hasn't done anything of the sort, as anyone who has been associated with this campaign could have told you and did tell some of us from the very beginning. We're running these stories, we're sort of being urged, or certainly not discouraged, to run these stories, because it sounds like a wonder weapon is in the offing here, and Milosevic had better back down. The Apache helicopters are another example of this. There have been questions about how and when those are going to be used. From the day it was announced they were going, they have been held out as a big wonder weapon. I'll just end with the thought that when this is over, we in the press are going to do a lot of post-mortem analysis of how this campaign went. I think there's also a case to be made that there should be a lot of post-mortem analysis of how the press handled this war.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to invite my colleagues to pay tribute to Jimmy Dimora, on the occasion of his being honored for his twenty-eight years of service to the Cuyahoga County community. Jimmy Dimora is a dedicated public official who has contributed a substantial portion of his life to the betterment of his community. He is especially committed to maintaining ties to labor organizations and helping the working men and women in the community. He has held a variety of public offices, ranging from Mayor of Bedford Heights to the Commissioner of Cuyahoga county. In addition to his service as a dedicated public official, he has devoted much of his time to community initiatives. Some of this activities Commissioner Dimora has been involved with include: a member of the Board of Trustees for the University Hospitals Health System Bedford Medical Center, and leadership rolls in the United Way, Shoes for Kids and the YMCA. Additionally, he has served as chairman of the Cuyahoga Democratic Party since 1994. Although his work and community service put extraordinary demands on his time, Commissioner Dimora has never limited the time he gives to his most important interest his family especially his lovely wife, Lori. I ask that my distinguished colleagues join me in commending Commissioner Jimmy Dimora for his lifetime of dedication, service, and leadership in Cuyahoga County. His large circle of family and friends can be proud of this significant contributions he has made. Our community has certainly been rewarded by the true service and uncompromising dedication displayed by Commissioner Jimmy Dimora.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, on May 20, 1999, I joined with Rep. Cynthia A. McKinney, Rep. Barbara Lee, Rep. John Conyers and Rep. Peter DeFazio in hosting the fourth in a series of Congressional Teach-In sessions on the Crisis in Kosovo. If a peaceful resolution to this conflict is to be found in the coming weeks, it is essential that we cultivate a consciousness of peace and actively search for creative solutions. We must construct a foundation for peace through negotiation, mediation, and diplomacy. Part of the dynamic of peace is a willingness to engage in meaningful dialogue, to listen to one another openly and to share our views in a constructive manner. I hope that these Teach-In sessions will contribute to this process by providing a forum for Members of Congress and the public to explore alternatives to the bombing and options for a peaceful resolution. We will hear from a variety of speakers on different sides of the Kosovo situation. I will be introducing into the Congressional Record transcripts of their remarks and essays that shed light on the many dimensions of the crisis. This presentation is by John R. (Rick) MacArthur, president and publisher of Harper's Magazine. Mr. MacArthur is an award-winning journalist and author. He received the 1993 Mencken award for the best editorial/opinion column. He also initiated the foundation-inspired rescue of Harper's in 1980, and since then the magazine has received numerous awards and the support of advertisers and readers alike. Mr. MacArthur is the author of Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the Gulf War, a finalist for a 1993 Mencken Award for books. A tireless advocate for international human rights, Mr. MacArthur founded and serves on the board of directors of the Death Penalty Information Center and the MacArthur Justice Center. Mr. MacArthur describes how government institutions and their willing accomplices in the news media mislead the public during periods of wartime. He cites specific instances from the Gulf War as well as the current War in Yugoslavia. He also discusses how both sides in the War in Yugoslavia engage in propaganda, often involving the misrepresentation and invention of atrocity stories to suit political purposes. Mr. MacArthur makes a compelling case for how war undermines the trust that the American people have in their institutions, with truth and accuracy as the victims. I commend this excellent presentation to my colleagues. Presentation by John R. MacArthur, Publisher of Harper's Magazine The first thing to keep in mind is that all governments lie in wartime, more or less in proportion to what they view as their political needs. Much more rarely do they lie in the pursuit of strategic military objectives or to protect military security, which is their oft-stated claim. Occasionally military commanders get the upper hand and their general obsession with secrecy and control can overcome the will of the politicians and their civilian advisors, but usually the politicians call the tune. They lie, and when they lie in concert with their military subordinates it is for one principle reason, and that is to manipulate journalists and mislead the public. In our country this matters more than in, say, North Vietnam, because we Americans operate on the quaint, old-fashioned notion of informed consent of the governed. The thought in the government is that if too much bad or unpleasant news gets to the people, as it finally did in Vietnam, the people might turn against the war policy of their leaders, which the leaders would prefer not to happen. Thus we cannot talk about war coverage in Kosovo without talking about NATO, US, and Serbian censorship and information management. NATO and the US are trying to manage the bad news in a variety of ways. Some of their techniques have succeeded in keeping us in the dark, and some have backfired. A case in point comes from Newsday's senior Washington correspondent Pat Sloyan whose upcoming article in the June American Journalism Review details the NATO public relations response to the April 14th bombing of the mixed procession of military and civilian vehicles near Jakovo that killed upwards of 82 Albanian civilians, who, of course, we were supposed to protect. You'll recall the delay in NATO's response, and the playing of an audio tape debriefing of a US air force pilot identified only as ``Bear 21.'' ``Bear 21'' is heard sincerely explaining how hard he tried to hit the military vehicle, but the implication by NATO and by the PR people was that ``Bear 21,'' with all his good intentions, had simply missed his target and killed civilians. In fact, ``Bear 21'' did hit the military vehicle, not the tractors. A review of the gun-sight footage revealed later that other NATO pilots may have killed the civilians. I think they probably did, and, as Sloyan writes, senior US military officials who spoke on condition of anonymity say General Clark's staff had purposely singled out the F-16 pilot, ``Bear 21,'' in an attempt to minimize public criticism of the civilian bombing. The hope was that the public would be sympathetic to someone who had taken great care to be accurate. ``They [that is, NATO], picked him for propaganda reasons,'' says a senior US military official. The blame-placing outraged senior military officials, who said it deliberately misrepresented the event, and smeared an excellent pilot. That's a fairly sophisticated public relations maneuver, but NATO is resorting to less sophisticated manipulation techniques as well, some of which seem quite pointless to me. In the Gulf War you'll recall reporters were not permitted to interview soldiers, sailors, and airmen without a military press agent present at all times. This was done naturally to discourage the troops from making any offhand or calculated criticisms of US policy, of their living conditions, of their fears of going into battle, in short, anything that might have suggested that their morale wasn't anything but 100% A-OK. Today at the Aviano airbase in Italy, not only do you still need a military escort present, but you can't use the name or hometown of your interview subject. The bizarre justification for this is allegedly to protect the families of the servicemen, or the servicewomen, from Yugoslav hate mail. I'm wondering if this is a military security matter or some weird form of political correctness in which the receivers of the bombs aren't permitted to express their hatred for those who deliver the bombs. But actually I think it's more likely just propaganda, because we're inevitably going to kill Serb and Albanian civilians and we don't want to associate actual names and faces with the killing. That would be bad for morale, both within the air force and outside the air force. It's pure and simple PR. This brings up the larger question of war coverage and propaganda. NATO and Serbia are currently engaged in a propaganda war that hinges to some extent on accurate or inaccurate war coverage. Paradoxically, the side that is cast as the villain in the war, the enemy of freedom and tolerance, is the side that is permitting and encouraging the best war coverage. The Serbs think bad news helps their case because nobody on our side wants to see the blood of civilians on our hands. NATO realizes this and is trying to mitigate the propaganda value of dead civilians with allegations of atrocities committed by the Serbs against innocent Albanians. NATO and its supporters in the media are hyping Holocaust analogies in particular. Fred Hiatt in the Washington Post threw all caution and sense of proportion to the winds last week, making an explicit comparison between the expulsion and flight of the Albanians and the Auschwitz extermination camp. NATO talks about the rape camps, mass graves, and summary executions. They cite as evidence spy satellite photographs, but won't show us these photographs. Meanwhile, thanks to the Yugoslav political imperative, correspondents like the outstanding Paul Watson of the Los Angeles Times report things like: ``Something strange is going on in [this Kosovar Albanian village] in what was once a hard-line guerrilla stronghold, where NATO accuses the Serbs of committing genocide.'' He goes on to report that by their own accounts the Albanian men are not living in a concentration camp, or being forced to labor for the police or army, or serving as human shields for Serbs. I think you've probably seen other stories saying that these Serbs for whatever reason are encouraging Albanians to move back into their homes. This of course in no way excuses the expulsion of the hundreds of thousands who are in the refugee camps, but there is a battle of propaganda going on now of epic proportion. I would, I suppose immodestly, ask you to ask yourselves and your elected representatives and maybe your local newspaper editors why it is that our memories are so short on the question of successful propaganda. Just seven years ago, John Martin of CBS News and I revealed elements of an atrocity that allegedly occurred during the Gulf War, which had a great deal to do with the Senate vote in favor of going to war, the Senate War Resolution. I am referring to the baby incubator murders of 1990 and 1991 allegedly committed by Iraqi soldiers in Kuwaiti hospitals. I hope you remember that it was entirely false, entirely fraudulent. Not one baby was killed by Iraqi soldiers. It's possible that babies died from neglect, because most of the foreign medical staff had fled the Kuwaiti hospitals, but there was no looting of incubators. At one point President Bush, sounding very much like President Clinton, declared that babies were being ``scattered like firewood'' across the hospital floors. More famously, in this case, the daughter of the Kiwaiti ambassador, Naira Al Sabah, testified as an anonymous refugee before House Human Rights Caucus, saying that she herself had witnessed 15 babies being removed from incubators. Everybody believed it. By the end of it, Amnesty International, which got suckered into the story as well, had declared that 312 babies had been killed this way. Another hearing was held in front of the UN Security Council, where a surgeon--he called himself a surgeon--said that he had personally supervised the burial of 40 babies outside the hospital where they had been killed. After the war, he recanted. He turned out to be a dentist, not a surgeon, and so on and so forth. This was not just in the august chambers of the House of Representatives, but before the United Nations Security Council. So I am astonished that there is so little skepticism about the atrocity stories. The exaggeration of atrocities, or the invention of atrocity stories, has the paradoxical effect of minimizing the real horror of a war. In other words, because there's a Holocaust going on, well, if a few hundred civilians have to die, it's not such a big deal. I think that's one of the propaganda motives of NATO right now, to hype the atrocities and push the Holocaust analogies as much as possible in order to minimize the horror over the deaths of hundreds of civilians, Albanians and Serbs, caused by our side.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. Charles Reynolds for his commitment to educating and shaping the lives of our youth. Mr. Reynolds is retiring from his position as principal at Benedictine High School in Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Reynolds' school spirit and enthusiasm for sports was demonstrated in the 1950s as a student at Benedictine where he was an All Scholastic basketball and football player for the Benedictine Bengals. After receiving a Bachelor's Degree from Purdue University, Mr. Reynolds returned to his alma mater as a teacher and football and basketball coach. From there he went to Warrensville High School as head football and assistant basketball coach. Mr. Reynolds continued his career in education by serving as assistant principal at Monticello Junior High. He later became Unit Principal at Cleveland High School. Finally, he accepted the position of principal at Warren High School where he remained until he retired. However, his retirement was short-lived. After Father Dominic Mondzelewski stepped down as principal at Benedictine, Mr. Reynolds was persuaded to come out of retirement to become Benedictine's first lay principal. During his tenure, he upgraded the school technology and implemented many new programs, including Project Real, the Renaissance Honors program. In addition, he has instilled a renewed pride and school spirit among the student body. Mr. Reynolds took great pride in his leadership role at Benedictine, a school that excels in educating young men and sends 99 percent of its graduates to college. Benedictine is known not only for academics, but also athletics. The high school currently holds the record in the lower 48 states of winning five state athletic championships over two academic years. I ask my fellow colleagues to join me in congratulating Mr. Reynolds for his career as an outstanding educator. Benedictine will celebrate his retirement at a dinner on June 5, 1999. I wish Charles Reynolds and his family the very best.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the first Hispanic Councilman in the City of Cleveland, Nelson Cintron, Jr. Mr. Cintron has had many extraordinary accomplishments as a city councilman. He expanded the Puerto Rican Parade from 1 day to 4 days thus creating the Puerto Rican Society of Cleveland. Fulfilling a promise he made to his father, he brought the first 24 hours a day Hispanic Radio Station to Cleveland through Cablevision in 1991. He was also the first to win local primaries for Cleveland City councilman 1989, 1993, and to win the election in 1997, thus fulfilling another one of his life long dreams. Mr. Cintron has also been an outstanding leader in his community. He is currently a member of several clubs and community organizations including: Alma Yaucana Club, Azteca Club, San Lorenzo Club, the Puerto Rican Society of Cleveland, Spanish American Committee, the Ohio Latin Broadcasting Inc, St. Michael Church, Latinos Unidos and the Hispanic Club. Through his hard work and dedication to helping the Puerto Ricans in Cleveland, Mr. Cintron has set an example of what can be accomplished and has been a positive role model for the Hispanic community in Cleveland. Mr. Cintron is a tremendous inspiration to all Americans. Through his strong devotion he has been an exceptional leader in the Puerto Rican Community and has helped them make a name for themselves. My fellow colleagues, please join me in honoring Nelson Cintron, Jr., a dear friend and the first Hispanic Councilman for the City of Cleveland.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Saint Aloysius Parish of Cleveland, Ohio on its 100th anniversary. The church serves its parishioners and the communities of Glenville and South Collinwood through education, social services and the preservation of faith values. Two schools, St. Aloysius and St. Joseph's, offer education to students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The schools are known for their excellence in academics and the strong sense of community between teachers, students and parents. St. Aloysius reaches out to community members of all faiths through its social services operations. The church runs a food distribution program that provides 700 to 800 bags of food to needy families in the area once a month. Working with nearby parishes and local food banks, the church also provides a hot meal program every Tuesday which serves up to 700 hot meals. St. Aloysius was founded in 1898 by Rev. Msgr. Joseph Smith for the area's predominantly Irish-American population. As the population in the area changed, the pastors worked to improve racial relations in the area. Today, the parish serves the present African-American community. In 1974, the parish merged with neighboring St. Agatha Church. The tight-knit parish community worships in the church known as ``the Cathedral of Glenville'' and prides itself on knowing all its members. St. Aloysius has been celebrating its 100th anniversary since last summer. Parishioners have been commemorating their church's history by celebrating Mass, holding cultural events and creating a memories wall with photos of past and present members. As a honorary committee member of the St. Aloysius parish I take great pride in commending the entire congregation on its century of serving the community through faith, education and outreach programs. I urge my colleagues to join me in wishing the St. Aloysius community many years of continued success.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Father McNulty's 25th Anniversary of his Ordination as a Priest. Father McNulty was born in October of 1948. He attended Borromeo High School, Borromeo College, Wickliffe and St. Mary's Seminary. Throughout the last 25 years Father McNulty has dedicated himself to helping others in his community. He has been involved in a number of different assignments in the greater Cleveland area. He is currently the pastor at SS. Philip and James in Cleveland as well as the Chaplain for the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians and is the Deputy National Chaplain for the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians. His work has proven time and time again to be a tremendous help to the community and is a very well known and respected priest in the Cleveland area. Through his dedicated efforts the community has grown together. His work should be recognized as having a very influential and positive effect on the people in the greater Cleveland area. My fellow colleagues, please join me in honoring Father McNulty's 25 years of service to the greater Cleveland community.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to rise today in tribute to Dr. David Kircher, Superintendent of Fairview Park Schools in Rocky River, Ohio. As he celebrates his retirement, I ask all of my colleagues to join with me in saluting his outstanding service and leadership in the Fairview Park Schools. Dr. Kircher has dedicated a substantial portion of his life to the betterment of the Fairview Park Schools. For the past 30 years, Dr. Kircher has served as an important figure for the Fairview Park School district. He has held several positions throughout his tenure, but none as important as Superintendent of Fairview Park Schools, a position from which he will be retiring as of August 1, 1999. As the fifth superintendent in the history of the Fairview Park Schools, Dr. Kircher worked his way up from an Earth Space Science teacher to Superintendent in 1996. Throughout his career he has been recognized for his hard work and dedication in the Fairview Park Schools. Many students and staff members are not only inspired by his motivation and hard work, but also appreciate the fact that he has helped create excellent schools. That is why in 1998 he was nominated for the National Superintendent of the year. The following year he received a resolution from the city of Fairview Park recognizing his 30 years of dedicated service to the Fairview Park Schools. Education has always been Dr. Kircher first priority. He earned a Ph.D. in educational administration at Kent State University. His wisdom and educational background helped him become one of the most influential superintendents in Fairview Park Schools. Although his work puts extraordinary demands on his time, Dr. David Kircher has never limited the time he gives to his most important interest, his family, especially his lovely wife, Maryann. I ask that and my distinguished colleagues join me in commending Dr. David Kircher for his lifetime dedication, service, and leadership in Fairview Park Schools. His large circle of family and friends can be proud of the significant contribution he has made. Our community has certainly been rewarded by the true service and uncompromising dedication displayed by Dr. David Kircher.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Chairman, I rise respectfully to oppose the Skelton amendment. NATO has achieved a victory, but it is really not a victory. It is a cessation of war, a cessation for now. The war is stopped not because of bombing but because Congress did not give wholesale authorization to the war. It is important that Congress maintain its constitutional duty to reign the administration's war policies through not providing a blanket authorization past September 30, which the Skelton amendment would affect. The agreement that was passed involving the war does not involve the KLA, and the fact that it does not involve the KLA ought to give pause to Members of this Congress, because the KLA's goal is still an independent Kosovo. We could end up in a situation where our young men and women whom we all support would be in a circular firing squad with KLA members being arrested and Serb units trying to get back into the province. A vote against the Skelton amendment would be a vote to support the troops. The only way that we are going to have peace in the end is to make sure that there continues to be congressional oversight. Let us not give that up.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to me. Mr. Chairman, NATO has achieved not a victory but a cessation of war, for now. It is important that Congress maintain a tight rein on the administration's policy in the Balkans through not providing a blanket authorization past September 30, which the Skelton amendment would effect. The agreement that was signed is significant for what it does not say. The KLA was not a party to the agreement. The KLA is not even mentioned in the text of the agreement. The agreement does not limit the types and quantities of weapons the KLA must turn in. The agreement does not require the KLA to turn in rifles and machine guns purchased in Albania and on the black market. Keep in mind the KLA's goal is still an independent Kosovo. They will not accept NATO's new goal of autonomy. They will return to the province well armed and well protected. The agreement also provides for Yugoslav forces to be allowed back into Kosovo, but it does not say when. This agreement may have established a fertile ground for more war. This agreement could exchange the ill-fated and ill-advised quest for a greater Serbia for an ill-fated and ill-advised quest for a greater Albania. It is urgent that Congress keep control in such an undefined and unpredictable environment created by an undefined agreement. Our young men and women could end up trapped in a ground war in Kosovo. Our young men and women could end up in a circular firing squad between an armed KLA and Serbs, Serb units trying to get back into the province. Only congressional oversight will keep America from getting deeper and deeper into a reignited war between the KLA and Serbia. That is why I am going to support the Fowler and Souder amendments. The administration already has funds appropriated for peacekeepers and military. There is no cut in funds being affected here. The Skelton amendment will permit the administration to have more authority to use money to send in troops or peacekeepers after October 1. This is June 10. Vote against the Skelton amendment.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Kevin Shanahan, one of the founders of Irish Dancing in the Cleveland area. Kevin Shanahan came to the Cleveland area from his home in Dublin, Ireland in 1953. The thriving Irish community in Cleveland welcomed his expertise in Irish Dancing. And because of Shanahan's efforts, Irish Dancing has transformed over the years into a popular and creative expression of Irish culture. Under the auspices of the West Side Irish America Club, Mr. Shanahan organized the first Cleveland Feis in 1957. Through his beginning efforts and the Club's hard work, the Cleveland Feis has become a premier Irish event. Even today, it is a festival to which everyone in the Irish community looks forward each year. While Mr. Shanahan has returned to Dublin, to live in the house where he was born, his legacy lives on in the Cleveland area. The students he taught during his time in Cleveland continue to carry on the Irish Dance traditions they learned from the master. My fellow colleagues, please join me in honoring a man who has kept traditional Irish Dancing alive in the Cleveland area, Mr. Kevin Shanahan.