Dennis Kucinich

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today in remembrance of Anne Starr, and in recognition of her dedication to her family, her country and her community. Mrs. Starr was born in California, Pennsylvania and moved to the Cleveland area in the early 1920s. Both she and her husband, William, were active in the veterans community in the greater Cleveland area. By setting an example of leadership and civic participation, they taught their children the importance of community involvement. Her son, Gary Starr, learned that lesson well, and has served as mayor of Middleburg Heights since 1981. It was through Mrs. Starr's orchestrations that Gary got an early taste for politics. A lifelong ``Roosevelt Democrat,'' Mrs. Starr arranged for her son Gary to get credentials at the Republican National Convention in Miami in 1968 when Gary was 17 years old and visiting extended family in Florida. Through that experience, Gary met all the national news anchors of the day and formed a lifelong interest in politics himself. Later, Anne was active in all of Mayor Gary Starr's election campaigns. Mrs. Starr belonged to the Lions Club and to the Women's Auxiliary of American Legion Post 703 in Parma and Middleburg Heights. She was a founding member of the Middleburg Heights Veterans Memorial, which stands in front of the Middleburg Heights community center. In 2004, I, along with the Cuyahoga County Commissioners, U.S. Senator George Voinovich, Ohio State Senators Dan Brady and Doug White, and Ohio Representative Timothy DeGeeter, recognized Mrs. Starr for her outstanding service and leadership in founding the Memorial. She sold many of the bricks that comprise the Memorial, with each brick displaying the name of a local veteran. Mrs. Starr was also recognized by the Middleburg Heights Chamber of Commerce during the city's annual Salute to the City Celebration for her significant contributions to the community of Middleburg Heights. Madam Speaker and colleagues, please join me in celebrating the life of Anne Starr, who committed her life to serving her family, her country and her community. May her life serve as an example to us all.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Ken Livingstone, former Mayor of London, and in recognition of his outstanding leadership, vision and advocacy on behalf of the many diverse communities that make up London's social fabric. Ken Livingstone carries with him a rich history of public service and advocacy in England. Mayor Livingstone was born in Lambeth, London, England, in 1945. He began his political career in 1973 when he became a Labour member of the Greater London Council (GLC). While serving as leader of the GLC from 1981 to 1986, Mr. Livingstone fought against discrimination, and in 1985, sat beside Jesse Jackson at an Anti- Apartheid rally. In 1987, following his career as leader of the GLC, Mr. Livingstone served as the Labour Member of Parliament for Brent East for 14 years. In 2000, Mr. Livingstone was elected as the Mayor of London, the first person to hold this office and he would serve in that position until May 2008. As the first Mayor of London, a truly international city that attracts people from all over the world, he continued his legacy of challenging all forms of discrimination and of fostering multiculturalism. He enthusiastically celebrated London's multiculturalism by hosting several city wide events, such as a Hanukkah ceremony at City Hall. He also honored the contributions of England's Irish community by hosting a Saint Patrick's Day festival and celebrated the end of Ramadan with London's Muslim community by hosting the ``Eid in Traflagar'' event. During the June 2005 London bombings, he demonstrated his leadership by initiating several campaigns dedicated to fostering inter-cultural understanding and united London's unique and diverse social fabric. Mr. Livingstone is also the author of two books, If Voting Changed Anything They'd Abolish It and Livingstone's Labour. Madam Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honor of former Mayor Livingstone as a champion of human and civil rights and in recognition of his leadership and advocacy on behalf of London's diverse communities.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of the Memorial Day Association of Greater Cleveland as they remember and honor our Nation's veterans on this year's Memorial Day. The Memorial Day Association of Greater Cleveland consists of veterans and their organizations, joining together every year to commemorate the lives of their fellow veterans who lost their lives in service to our country. These organizations invite all members of the Greater Cleveland Area community to join in their remembrance during their annual traditional Memorial Day event. I stand in honor and recognition of all the veterans and organizations for their contributions to the community: American Ex- Prisoners of War, American Gold Star Mothers, American Legion, Amvets with Auxiliary, Army and Navy Union with Auxiliary, Catholic War Veterans, Daughters of ``98'', Daughters of Union Veterans, Disabled American Veterans, Greater Cleveland Veterans Council, Greater Cleveland Veterans Memorial Inc., Jewish War Veterans with Auxiliary, Joint Veterans' Commission of Cuyahoga County, Korean War Veterans, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Marine Corps League, Navy Seabee Veterans of America, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Polish Army Veterans Association of America, Polish Legion of American Veterans with Auxiliary, Reserve Officers Association, St. Theodosius War Veterans, Service Star Legion Veterans, Sons of the American Revolution, Sons of Spanish American War Veterans, Southwest Asia Veterans, Ukrainian American Veterans, Ukrainian Veterans Association, United Spanish War Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Military Wars with Auxiliary, Veterans of World War One and Auxiliary, Vietnam Veterans of America, Waves National, and 82nd Airborne Division Association. Madam Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honor of the Memorial Day Association of Greater Cleveland as they commemorate Memorial Day and in recognition of these organizations' contributions to the Greater Cleveland Area.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Cuyahoga County Community College, Ohio's oldest community college, as the college hosts this year's Memorial Day Celebration along with the Memorial Day Association of Greater Cleveland. Cuyahoga County Community College (Tri-C) opened in 1963 and now serves more than fifty-five thousand credit and non-credit students each year. Tri-C provides students with a first-rate education environment with professors who are committed to their success at their three traditional campuses. Tri-C also offers students the option to earn their associate degree, participate in certificate programs and complete two years of a baccalaureate degree at two Corporate College locations, over fifty off-campus sites, and through various distance learning options. Cuyahoga County Community College is one of the premier sites for many of the major cultural, community and sporting events that more than five-hundred thousand Greater Cleveland Area residents attend throughout the year. The college hosts one of the nation's largest educational Jazz festivals, Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland. This year the college hosts the annual Memorial Day Celebration, State Senator Robert F. Spada as the guest speaker, who has been representing Ohio since 1999. Madam Speaker and colleagues, please join me in recognizing Cuyahoga County Community College as they host this years Memorial Day Celebration and for the college's contributions to the Greater Cleveland Area.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise to thank the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) for almost 100 years of volunteer service to communities throughout the United States. Service projects over the years have included food drives, clothes drives and blood drives. Boy Scouts have volunteered their time at disaster relief sites, created nature trails and written letters to our brave troops overseas. In fact, participation in service activities by the Boy Scouts America are so numerous that I could not possibly mention them all here. I would like to take this opportunity to commend the Boy Scouts of America for providing valuable assistance to our society and I look forward to their continued participation in communities throughout the U.S. Unfortunately, the Boy Scouts of America have used valuable resources to legally establish their ability to set exclusionary criteria for membership through a June 2000 Supreme Court ruling. Specifically, ``the Boy Scouts of America will not employ atheist, agnostics, known or avowed homosexuals. . .'' This discrimination should not be supported by the U.S. government. Congress has a responsibility to encourage equality and as such, should not commemorate any organization that engages in the practice of discrimination in any form. Furthermore, H.R. 5872 provides that a $10 surcharge per coin be distributed to the BSA Foundation ``in the form of grants for the extension of Scouting in hard to serve areas.'' I do not believe that the government should have a hand in raising funds for any organization that actively discriminates. Nor should the government raise funds for an organization that has a history of using valuable resources to legally establish the ability to maintain an exclusionary criterion for membership as the BSA has done. As such, I must oppose this legislation. This Congress has a responsibility to defend against social injustice. Congress must set policies that demonstrate our ability to overcome, once and for all, the type of thinking that seeks to separate us.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of the Cleveland Steel Tool Company and in recognition of 100 years of service and business in the city of Cleveland. Founded in 1908, the Cleveland Steel Tool Company began as a producer of patented punches for the automotive leaf spring industry, the same year that Henry Ford introduced his Model T automobile. For the past 100 years CST's products have been used in bridge, automotive, aircraft and shipbuilding industries and the company incorporated under President J.E. Doolittle, in downtown Cleveland on West 3rd Street. CST has been there since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and is now one of the leading manufacturers in the world of punches, dies, tools and specialties. CST has been able to stay true to its roots despite the demands of the new technological era. With an inventory of over 12,000 products, its equipment and staff provide the best service and technological expertise to its customers worldwide. Over 50 of its 100 years of service and business has been from the same plant location in Cleveland. The community of employees at CST is comprised of engineers and a technical team who contribute their talent, trade and expertise within an array of roles, ensuring the collective success of the company and its clients. CST's team of engineers works tirelessly to create innovative solutions to the Metalworking industry and their ingenuity is the driving success behind CST's equipment design. The technical team works directly with CST's customers by providing support for their tooling application problems. Madam Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honor and gratitude of all members of the Cleveland Steel Tool Company and the individuals who live and work within our Cleveland community. May their individual and collective commitment to their work bring another 100 years of success for the Cleveland Steel Tool Company.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, although my colleagues have worked hard to provide meaningful reform, this bill maintains agriculture policies that are driving several underlying problems. For example, the single biggest share of subsidies under this bill goes to corn, which drives up food prices through corn based ethanol incentives and which contributes to obesity and diabetes through the overproduction of High Fructose Corn Syrup. The bill short-changes conservation programs that can reduce global warming pollution. It continues to encourage factory farms where our antibiotics are rendered weak or useless because of overuse on cattle, where cattle are treated inhumanely, where toxic runoff contributes to contaminated drinking water, and where employees suffer the highest rates of workplace injuries of almost any other industry. Finally, this Farm Bill maintains massive giveaways to corporate agribusiness instead of helping the vanishing family farmer. The president has declared his intent to veto this bill because it does not contain adequate reform. Instead, he asserts that Congress should pass a one year extension of the status quo and come back with a farm bill containing more meaningful reform. I agree that the bill falls far short. In voting against the previous version of the Farm Bill, my hope was that Congress would take the last remaining opportunity to construct a farm bill that did not exacerbate the obesity and diabetes epidemics, that was good for the environment, and that favored family farmers over corporate agribusiness. However, there are now no other opportunities to improve the bill in the near future. At the same time, this Farm Bill contains provisions that give immediate relief from hunger caused by rising food costs. Northeast Ohio, where the situation is particularly urgent, simply cannot wait another year for relief. Portions of my district, including Lakewood, Fairview Park and Parma, have experienced a 74% increase in participation in the Food Stamp Program between 2002 and 2007. Participation in the food stamp program has increased over the last several years, with an additional 1.3 million people participating in the program in the last year alone. An unprecedented $10.4 billion over 10 years has been included in the Nutrition Title of the Farm Bill. Proper nutrition is vital to human life and a basic human right. Funding for the Nutrition Title will have an important impact on preventing domestic hunger by increasing the Food Stamp Program's minimum monthly benefit and The Emergency Food Assistance Program's mandatory funding level. There are over 35 million people in our nation who face hunger, 12.5 million of whom are children. Hunger centers in Cleveland, Ohio and around the nation report that demand for food assistance has risen by 15 to 20 percent over the last year. Increasingly, middle-class families are turning to food banks to meet their basic nutritional needs. In a recent survey, 83 percent of food banks reported that they are experiencing difficulty in meeting the needs of their communities. The bill increases assistance to food banks by $1.25 billion. This is an important step to curbing hunger in our nation and upholding the dignity of our citizens. I will continue to work with my colleagues to achieve the necessary reform to make certain that our citizens have access to wholesome and nutritious foods while preserving our family farms, improving public health and protecting our environment. But the immediate needs of the people of Northeast Ohio, combined with the lack of opportunity to craft a more sustainable alternative, leave me no choice but to vote for this Farm Bill.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the first and second amendments to the Senate amendment to H.R. 2642. In November 2006, the people of the United States gave this Congress a mandate to end the war in Iraq. Yet today we are in the same place we were in January of 2007 and have not taken appropriate action to end the war. The first amendment considered today continues to fund the war with an additional $162.5 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. These funds will carry the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan into 2009. This money adds to the $700 billion that Congress has appropriated for all war related expenses since 2001. Expert analysis tells us that the real cost of funding this war will amount to $3 trillion. Yet dollar figures cannot begin to estimate the true cost of war which includes the lost lives of the 4,077 of our honorable troops who have been killed in Iraq and 501 killed in Afghanistan, the lives of over 1,000,000 Iraqi civilians, and the injury of over 30,000 members of the Armed Forces. The second amendment sets a goal for the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq. I favor the safe and orderly redeployment of our troops and this amendment requires that it begin within 30 days. But a nonbinding goal to withdraw our troops within l8 months does not end this war and does not mean that all of our troops will be home within 18 months. This goal amounts to an open-ended invitation to continue this war well into the future. This body has the ability to end the war and bring our troops home simply by refusing to continue funding. The war, waged under false pretenses, has decimated Iraq. Destruction has permeated most of the country. War has taken a very heavy, very real and very caustic toll. At an absolute minimum, we have a responsibility to rebuild that which we have destroyed. However, amendment number two to the Emergency Supplemental requires Iraq to match U.S. reconstruction funds dollar-for-dollar. The U.S. has waged an illegal war that has torn Iraq to pieces and now this body sees fit to require that Iraq match U.S. funding for reconstruction. This sends a clear signal to the Iraqi people about the U.S. commitment to the health and well-being of the people of Iraq. I cannot support this policy. The second amendment will also require Iraq to partially finance the cost of fuel for the U.S. military in Iraq. This amounts to stealing from the Iraqi people. The Constitution of Iraq mandates that the petroleum resources of Iraq belong to the Iraqi people. These resources will be needed by Iraq to ensure their future well-being. This body should not establish any requirements related to the oil resources of Iraq. It is time for this body to stop equivocating. This body must end this war. The American people have asked us to end this war and bring our troops home. We must respond to the will of the American people.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. The great amount of borrowing this country is doing from nations like China, Japan and Korea is weakening our dollar. Many of us know that we're borrowing money from China to prosecute a war in Iraq. So with a weakened dollar, we're seeing a contribution here to the increased cost of crude oil. The weaker the dollar, the higher the price of crude oil. Today, the price of crude oil is about $130 a barrel. We're looking at gasoline this summer perhaps as much as $5 a gallon. We need to change our economic direction. We need to strengthen our dollar. We need to change our monetary policy and stop borrowing. We need to go after these oil companies, not only in international courts with antitrust action, but we need a windfall profits tax. And if that fails, we need to have an honest discussion in this country about why we let the oil companies control the economy anyway. Why don't we start looking at ways to take back the power of the people so that we can have control of our own destiny?

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 5658, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009. The United States military is unmatched. I therefore maintain that the defense-industrial complex follows a misguided strategy of buying weapons that provide Americans with no increased safety. We need to provide for the traditional sense of security by first ensuring economic security, health security, and job security for all. The roots of terrorism begin not in hatred, but in desperation. All people, no matter their ethnicity, seek the basic necessities such as food, clothes, shelter, good health, and the ability to earn a decent living. If you can level this playing field, there is no desperation that may potentially evolve into radical hatred. I will support a defense budget that matches real threats to our security with appropriate defensive measures. Our foreign policy should promote economic stability worldwide, thereby eliminating the roots of terrorism, which stem from desperation. This bill does the opposite by continuing policies of fear and aggression. The advocates of advanced weapons systems fail to understand these new systems do not match up an effective defense capability with the terrorist threats. Only a new approach to foreign policy can effectively mitigate the terrorist threat. The ever-rising cost of our military is not financially sustainable. Since 2001 this body has appropriated over $700 billion for all war- related expenses. This bill will provide an additional $70 billion in emergency funding for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. But as we know, the Administration is asking for hundreds of billions of additional funds that this body is expected to consider in the near future. Now more than ever it is clear that this Administration's occupation and reconstruction of Iraq has failed. The war, waged under false pretenses, has decimated Iraq. Destruction has permeated most of the country. War has taken a very heavy, very real toll. There is increasing concern that militias in Iraq are arising to meet the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people. I have urged this body to stop this illegal war. We must honor our troops by bringing them home. I cannot support any measure that continues the illegal occupation of Iraq and continues to undercut our nation's credibility. The greatest tragedy of this war is the 4,080 American soldiers that have been killed. Tens of thousands more have been injured. Estimates conclude that 1,000,000 innocent Iraqis have died as a result of the U.S. invasion. Furthermore, the claimed ballistic missile threat is grossly exaggerated. Terrorists do not possess ballistic missiles and the few nation states that do have such missiles have no desire to face the retaliation of our ballistic missiles. Accordingly, I thank the Committee for undercutting the President's request of $954 million for the European Ground-Based Mid-Course Defense (GMD) program. However, this bill still authorizes $582 million for the European GMD despite a lack of assurance that the system will work or make our national more safe. Funding for the European GMD should be removed entirely. The Administration claims the system is necessary to defend the U.S. from a long-range ballistic missile attack from Iran. However, Iran is unlikely to pose such a threat to the United States in the foreseeable future due to the immense technical difficulties that Iran would have to overcome to create a long-range ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. In fact, it is conceivable that the U.S. will have its own technical difficulties to overcome before such a system can be proven viable. The Test and Evaluation department of the Pentagon cautions that many more tests under realistic conditions would be needed before conceding our capability to shoot down an offensive missile. The citizens of the Czech Republic and Poland clearly reject the proposed agreement. Public opinion polls in the Czech Republic and Poland reflect strong opposition to the placement of the radar and interceptors in their respective countries and strained their relations with Russia. The GMD proposal has by some accounts exacerbated U.S.- Russia relations. The U.S. has shared information but not meaningfully cooperated with Russia in these negotiations. Because the Czech Republic and Poland fall within the boundaries of former Russian influence, U.S. action with regard to the GMD have been perceived by Russia as an intrusion. There can be no doubt that U.S. efforts to impose the GMD are perceived as an obstruction to the diplomatic ties between our nations. A total of $9.3 billion will go to the Department of Energy for nuclear weapons activities, $1.455 billion of these funds will wisely go to Nonproliferation programs and I thank my colleagues for their work to increase these programs by $208 million above the President's request. However, this still leaves roughly $7.9 billion that supports and maintains nuclear stockpiles. The U.S. Administration has established a record of unilateralism and that undercuts our nation's credibility in the eyes of other nations. In just under eight years the U.S. Administration had backtracked on international treaties and conventions. The U.S. has rejected the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, refused to sign the Land Mine Treaty, withdrawn from the Anti Ballistic Missile Treaty, unsigned the Kyoto Protocol, and blocked a verification protocol for the Biological Weapons Convention. It is time for the U.S. to uphold international law. It is time for the U.S. to stand for dialogue and diplomacy. It is time for the United States to rethink our policies and set upon a new strategy of strength through peace.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. I appreciate your pointing it out.

Mr. KUCINICH. I thank the gentleman. I think that this House has concurrence, that we share concern about Lebanon. I certainly do, having had the chance, twice in the last 2 years, to not only visit the country, the northern and the southern part, but to meet with all the parties to the disputes. One of the things that I thought was most telling was that there was a concern about working out an agreement without the interference of outside parties, without the interference of Iran or the interference of the United States. There is a feeling of Lebanon-for-Lebanon that exists very strongly in Lebanon. Yet the Lebanese have not had the opportunity to really stand that way. Having gone to Lebanon, as I did right after the war that went past one month in the summer of 2006, and seeing the devastation there, there is no appetite for war on the part of the Lebanese people. The role of Hezbollah is certainly worth looking at. It's also worth considering the depth of support they have among the Lebanese people. We have to be very careful about how we dictate a certain policy in Lebanon for its effect on Lebanon and for its effect on the region. So, therefore, I must reluctantly oppose this resolution, as well intended as it might be, because I'm concerned that it will be seen by some as the United States trying to instigate more civil unrest in Lebanon at the same time that we say that we're supporting the central government. I have met with Prime Minister Siniora. He has been a good friend of the United States. But he had to sit by while the United States either looked the other way or encouraged, depending on whose story you accept, the continued bombing of Lebanon, which actually undermined his government. So we have a condition in Lebanon that really has been going on now for over 25 years, with Lebanon having only tenuous control of their own affairs, with the interference of so many outside governments. We should be doing everything we can to strengthen a process of dialogue in Lebanon. I don't believe that this resolution accomplishes that. I think it accomplishes the opposite. Again, I'm in support of whatever we can do to stabilize Lebanon. I just have my doubts that this resolution will accomplish that. I appreciate the concern of the sponsors. I think we need to have more of a discussion----

Mr. KUCINICH. I certainly will.

Mr. KUCINICH. I agree with you, and I appreciate your correcting the record in that he wasn't for it, that's for sure. But I'm suggesting to you that the fact that we had someone who was supporting us, and yet we continued as a government, our government did nothing to discourage the continued bombing of Lebanon during that period after the 6 days that Israel thought they basically had accomplished their objectives. I was in southern Lebanon. I saw the devastation. And I talked to people both on the Israeli side and on the Lebanese side, and I see that there was a desire to stop but it continued. We undermined the Siniora government. What I'm suggesting is that it's the United States interference in Lebanon that does not serve the country's purpose of peace well. I don't see our purpose there as being benign, to my good friend, and I say this having talked to all sides. Let Lebanon be for Lebanon. Let the United States and all the other nations of the world provide some support when asked for it, but we have to be very careful about injecting ourselves in a way that we try to determine the outcome for that country. We do not do well when we try to determine the outcome of who should govern another country. It always, in the last few years, has been very difficult for us to do that. I appreciate, though, the dedication that my good friend has to peace in Lebanon. We both agree on the necessity of civility there. We may have differences as to how that would be achieved. I thank the gentleman.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, will my friend yield?

Mr. KUCINICH. I'm maintaining that our government, the United States, has really not been for dialogue so as to try to bring all the parties together. We have pursued a path that has been quite narrow and that, in effect, keeps the conflict going. So I have concerns about that. I would agree that Mr. Siniora is trying to do everything he can, but I also think that he's limited to what he can do because of the parameters that he has to work within in order to keep the confidence of the administration in Washington, DC. And that's my concern. So this resolution, I don't think, really addresses the much deeper need for dialogue within Lebanon by the Lebanese instead of the United States injecting its point of view and its mandate onto Lebanon.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. KUCINICH. My concern is this: that you had an assistant Secretary of State for the U.S., David Welch, who went to Lebanon, and he went there to basically make sure that the government took a hard-line position and that it would forestall the possibility of any dialogue. And then one of the clients of the United States, or so-called clients, basically escalated the situation by taking on the issue of disarmament of Hezbollah, which really ought to be done within the parameters of the Lebanese discussion.

Mr. KUCINICH. Will my friend yield?

Mr. KUCINICH. How much more effective it would be if the disarming of Hezbollah, which should occur, would occur within the context of an agreement within Lebanon as opposed to being imposed by someone else. The Lebanese should have control of their own government.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Americans are now looking at $4 a gallon for gasoline. Is it going up to $5 a gallon? This is having a severe impact on family budgets. It's kind of a regressive tax on the poor and working people of this country, hitting those hardest who are least able to pay. And low-wage workers who commute are finding an increasingly difficult time being able to survive. It's having a devastating impact on our manufacturing economy. It's time for a new energy policy. It's time for a massive investment by Detroit in fuel efficiency and retooling and hybrids. It's time to end our reliance on oil. It's time to invest in alternative energy, like wind and solar. It's time to stop wars for resources. It's time to stop aggression in the Middle East. It's time to cooperate internationally to protect the environment. It's time to end NAFTA to make environmental quality principles part of our energy policy. It's time to regain control over America's economy and America's future.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I reluctantly rise in opposition to H.R. 2419, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. This version of the Farm Bill bears significant improvements over its predecessors. I fully support the inclusion of an unprecedented 10.4 billion dollars over 10 years for the Nutrition Title that has been included in the Conference Report. Funding for the Nutrition Title will have a strong impact on efforts to prevent domestic hunger by increasing the Food Stamp Program's minimum monthly benefit and the Emergency Food Assistance Program's mandatory funding level. Participation in the Food Stamp Program has increased over the last several years, with an additional 1.3 million people participating in the program in the last year alone. Portions of my district, including Lakewood, Fairview Park and Parma, have experienced a 74 percent increase in participation in the Food Stamp Program between 2002 and 2007. The bill also provides assistance to food banks by $1.25 billion. I have been a consistent supporter of efforts in the House of Representatives to strengthen Food Stamp Programs, nutritional assistance programs, and other programs to increase the quantity and quality of food available to those most in need. I will continue to do so. These programs help to address a severe short term problem. The purpose of the Farm Bill is to set long term priorities. However, this bill maintains the very policies that are driving several underlying problems. For example, the single biggest share of subsidies under this bill goes to corn. Yet this bill continues massive subsidies for ethanol production from corn at only a slightly lower level than was previously the case. Corn-based ethanol is a well-known driver of recent increases in food costs. Some are predicting that 25 percent of the corn crop in the U.S. will go toward ethanol by the end of the 2008 crop year. That is great news for corporate agribusiness that produces most of the corn in the U.S. But it's bad news for food prices and those families for whom food costs are a large portion of their budget. The vast majority of corn goes to cattle feed, which has health implications. It increases stomach acidity in the cattle, which makes them more susceptible to infection by E. Coli H:0157, the source of many food recalls. A corn-based diet also increases the level of saturated fat in the meat. The ubiquity of corn in our diet is further implicated in various health problems like the obesity epidemic and diabetes. Abundant corn means that high fructose corn syrup, HFCS, a food sweetener, is cheap and abundant. Most Americans would be hard-pressed to get through a meal without consuming it. It is high in calories, with little to no nutritional value. Between 1970 and 1990, HFCS consumption increased by 1000 percent, which is roughly the same period in which the obesity epidemic accelerated. This bill continues to subsidize HFCS, while taking only baby steps toward promoting healthy, locally grown fruits, vegetables and meats. According to writer Michael Pollan, ``the real price of fruits and vegetables between 1985 and 2000 increased by nearly 40 percent while the real price of soft drinks (aka liquid corn) declined by 23 percent.'' Unhealthy food is cheap. Healthy food is expensive. The obesity and diabetes epidemics affect low-income Americans more often and with more severity. The bill contributes to a host of environmental problems. It shortchanges conservation programs that can reduce global warming pollution. It removes the sod saver program which would have discouraged the alteration of valuable native grasslands and rangeland into crop production. It includes cuts to the Conservation Reserve Program and Wetland Reserve Program, which respectively substitute crops for resource conserving plantings on highly erodible and environmentally sensitive land and encourage restoration of lands to their original natural conditions. It continues to encourage factory farms where our antibiotics are rendered weak or useless because of overuse on cattle, where cattle are treated inhumanely, where toxic runoff contributes to contaminated drinking water, and where employees suffer the highest rates of workplace injuries of almost any other industry. Finally, this Farm Bill maintains massive giveaways to corporate agribusiness and rich families instead of helping the vanishing family farmer. Though the thresholds have been lowered compared to the past, this bill allows families with up to $2.5 million in income to get subsidies. The result is that the top 10 percent of all the benefactors will get about two-thirds of the payments. This bill continues the failed policies that allow the profits of agribusiness to skyrocket while pushing family farmers off their farms, forcing them to sell their farms to survive. Increasing funding to buy more nutritional foods is a good idea in the short term. But we need to stop perpetuating the very policies that cause food prices to increase and cause unhealthy food to be cheap. We need to move away from corn-based ethanol. We must shift subsidies toward healthier foods, like locally and regionally grown fruits, vegetables, grains and meats if we ever hope to address nutritional deficiencies. And we need to come to the aid of the family farmer. The Farm Bill does little to address these problems, and I could not vote for it.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the dedication of the Treadway Creek Trail in Ohio's 10th Congressional District. On Friday, May 16, 2008, I will join with Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Ohio Senator Shirley Smith, and Ward 15 Councilman Brian Cummins for the grand opening of this important natural and historic link along Ohio's Towpath Trail which will connect Cleveland with Akron, Canton, New Philadelphia, and all points between. Other partners in this project include the Old Brooklyn Development Corporation, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, the State of Ohio Clean Ohio Funds, Natural Resources Assistance Council of Cuyahoga County, the Ohio Canal Corridor, and the Ohio & Erie Canalway Association. Treadway Creek is a natural tributary to the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland's Old Brooklyn neighborhood. With the opening of the Treadway Creek Trail, the people of Old Brooklyn and other neighborhoods nearby will have an important natural resource to enjoy and will ultimately have pedestrian and bicycle access to the Cuyahoga River and the Towpath Trail. The Treadway Creek Trail restores and preserves for future generations 21 acres of natural open space in an urban section of the 10th District. This includes a prime riparian corridor and wooded ravine, acquired through donations and conservation easements. Restoration elements include erosion and water quality improvements, invasive species removal, and plantings of native grasses and woodland wildflowers. The Treadway Trail provides public access to the ravine and connects the developing Towpath Trail at lower Harvard Avenue by incorporating retaining walls planted with native species, interpretive and directional signage, scenic overlook areas, custom benches, and handcrafted timber railings. The Towpath Trail, which links our state's history, culture, nature, and geography along 110 miles between New Philadelphia and Cleveland, will ultimately connect Akron and Canton with Lake Erie at Whiskey Island. With our continued stewardship of Treadway Creek, Old Brooklyn and the Treadway Creek Trail will be an important linkage in this web of urban, suburban, and rural trails which connect the people of Northeast Ohio with their history, culture and natural resources. Madam Speaker, please join me in recognizing the beauty of Treadway Creek and the will of the people of Northeastern Ohio to protect this important piece of nature for the people's continued enjoyment.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Whiskey Island, a natural beauty along Lake Erie's urban coastline near Downtown Cleveland. On Saturday May 17, 2008, our Cuyahoga County Commissioners will be dedicating the Whiskey Island Bridge so that the people will have better access to Whiskey Island. Whiskey Island is a magnificent natural asset at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River in Downtown Cleveland. This lakefront park is not only an environmental asset, but an amenity for people who live, work, and play in Downtown Cleveland. The Cuyahoga County Commissioners were visionary in having acquired this park for the people of Northeast Ohio. I join with the Commissioners in envisioning a day when the Towpath Trail, which links our state's history, culture, nature, and geography along 110 miles between New Philadelphia and Cleveland, will connect with Lake Erie at Whiskey Island. With our continued stewardship of this important natural resource, Whiskey Island will one day be linked by this pedestrian and bicycle trail through Akron and Canton along the Cuyahoga River and its historic Towpath. Whiskey Island and the Towpath Trail are the people's treasures. With the dedication of the improved Whiskey Island Bridge, more people may now enjoy this oasis along the shoreline of Lake Erie and the banks of the Cuyahoga River. I have supported these projects in the past and pledge my future support to preserve and protect them as the people's resources. Madam Speaker, please join me in this moment to reflect on the beauty of Whiskey Island and the will of the people of Northeastern Ohio to protect this important patch of nature for the people's continued enjoyment. Madam Speaker and colleagues, please join me in recognition of Whiskey Island, and the will of the people of Northeastern Ohio to protect this important patch of nature for the people's continued enjoyment.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Juana Bordas, President of Mestiza Leadership International, and in recognition of her dedication, advocacy, and promotion of leadership in the Hispanic Community. Juana Bordas, is a national speaker and trainer who has worked tirelessly to promote leadership skills in minority communities since the beginning of her illustrious career. Her vision enabled her to found several important organizations and programs. In 1977, she founded what is now considered a national model of women's empowerment, Mi Casa Women's Center in Denver, Colorado, where she served until 1986. Mrs. Bordas is also the founding President and CEO of the National Hispana Leadership Institute, the only program of its kind in the United States that prepares Latina women for national leadership. Through this program, Mrs. Bordas partners with Harvard's JFK School of Government and Center for Creative Leadership to provide training for Hispanic women. She is also currently serving as President of Mestiza Leadership International, a unique company that focuses the promotion and fostering of leadership, diversity and organizational change. A former Peace Corps volunteer, Mrs. Bordas has served as advisor to Harvard's Hispanic Journal on Public Policy and the Kellogg National Fellows Program. She was also a former faculty member for the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), where she guided and mentored students in the Leadership Development Program, which is considered the most utilized executive training program in the world. She is currently the Vice President of the board of Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership and a trustee of the International Leadership Association. Mrs. Bordas has inspired countless readers through many of her publications and essays including, ``Passion and Power: Finding Personal Purpose'', an essay in ``Reflections on Leadership'' and is a contributing author to ``Leadership in the 21st Century'' in the book ``Rethinking Leadership''. She has been recognized for her innovative and important work on empowering members of minority communities by numerous organizations and institutions. She has been inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame, is the recipient of the Wise Woman Award from the National Center for Women's Policy Studies; the Franklin Miller Award from the U.S. Peace Corps and the 2006 Leadership Legacy Award from Spellman College's Center for Leadership. She was one of fifty leaders chosen by the Colorado Legislature to design the state's future plan and was selected by Colorado Business Magazine as one of the top one- hundred influential people in the state.