Dennis Kucinich

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1073) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that public servants should be commended for their dedication and continued service to the Nation during Public Service Recognition Week, May 5 through 11, 2008.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, all those of us who chose to be in elected office realize that we can't do our jobs unless there is a vast array of people who are in every category of employment, doing their jobs. And those workers in many cases, are people who are public employees. Public employees may be people who are working in the streets. They may be people who pick up the garbage; they may be people who are working desk jobs. There are people who perform so many different functions. At a Federal level, public employees are involved in providing direct service to people, whether it's making sure that people get their Social Security checks, their Medicare benefits, making sure that people have the opportunity to be able to have access to important government services. Public service is a worthy profession. It's one that we ought to be encouraging young people to be involved in. It's one that needs to achieve more appreciation, not less. In this era where people try to attack government, they're actually attacking the people who do the work of government. We need to lift up the position of government workers. This resolution of Public Service Recognition Week is certainly one way to do it. And it allows us to demonstrate the involvement of public employees in the daily life surrounding our communities and, in turn, we're reminded that we live in the United States of America, relying on each other to ensure the stability and greatness of our country. This is an important moment when we can recognize, through this resolution, everyone who serves. Each person who serves is worthy of respect. There is no level of service which is not worthy of respect. Dr. King pointed that out in some of his speeches when he talked about the street sweeper, how that street sweeper should sweep streets in a way that would reflect a great virtuoso performance. We need to have that kind of awareness that those who perform the daily work of government, at a local, county, State and Federal level, and also at regional levels, are people who love their country, love their community and ought to be honored. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KUCINICH. I would like to take this opportunity, before we close the debate, to thank those who are involved in public service in my own community, in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Having served in municipal government for many years, I understand how important the daily work of a city is. And I know that its people who repair the streets, who pick up the garbage, who make sure that the lights are repaired, who make sure the traffic signals work, who answer calls for fire or police protection, I know that all of those individuals love their community and they deserve to be appreciated. Also, on a county level, in Cuyahoga County, you have many workers who are unsung for their service as clerks, people who work in recording deeds, people who work in collecting taxes, people who work in seeing that welfare services are given, case workers and others, they're all public servants and all public employees. This resolution is a fitting way to honor those individuals. And I just wanted to cite specifically Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, because, having been involved with that constituency for so long, I understand the workers who make possible the work of those various governmental jurisdictions. At this time I would reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KUCINICH. I yield back.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 49) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that there should be established a National Letter Carriers Appreciation Day.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, we're honoring workers today, and it's appropriate, among those workers, that we single out letter carriers. As a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I'm pleased to join my colleagues in support of H. Res. 49, which seeks to commemorate our Nation's postal carriers for their dedication and hard work. By consistently delivering the mail in a timely and congenial fashion for over hundreds of years, mail carriers have become an irreplaceable component, not only to the economy of America, but to the culture and livelihood of our country. I believe we have a tendency to forget how important the every day service is. Yet, if we were to go 1 day without the United States Postal Service, over 2,300 pieces of mail per carrier would go undelivered. It is our mail carriers who help preserve the concept of universal service that is so integral to the work of the United States Postal Service. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I'm hopeful that when this resolution passes, as I'm sure it will, that the United States Postal Service will post a copy of it in every post office in the country so that our letter carriers will be able to see that Members of Congress appreciate the work that they do. Day in and day out our letter carriers are there. We rely on them to move the commerce of the country. Many of us are aware that the United States Postal Service is the third largest employer in America; that they employ over 700,000 career letter carriers, and 98,000 noncareer employees; that they move about 44 percent of the world's mail volume. They have an extraordinarily important work to do in providing for communication in this country, in making sure that people here from one another in carrying messages that are so important to our commerce. The United States Postal Service employees, these letter carriers that we're honoring today, deserve our constant appreciation for the work that they do. I'm so glad that this House is involved in paying attention to the people that do the everyday work of our Nation that aren't often recognized. We who are in these exalted positions always need to remember that the work of the government is done in so many ways, and when somebody, step by step, moves through his or her appointed rounds, every day, out there delivering the mail, they deserve just as much respect as those of us who are holding high public office. And so it's with a great deal of appreciation for the letter carriers that I stand in support of the bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlelady and congratulate her on her service in the Congress and say how much I enjoy working with her. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the resolution (H. Res. 578) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that there should be established a National Watermelon Month, as amended.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her expression of support for the resolution. I am also going to support the resolution. I just want to add one note of observation so that all those who are enjoying watermelons in this country also keep in mind the people who do the work, who pick those watermelons. It is hard work. Today we have other bills under suspension that will give us a chance to celebrate the work of laborers. I think that it is important that we are grateful for those who pick the watermelons, and we have to recognize in this market where there are increasing restrictions on migrant workers, making it very difficult for farmers to get the kind of labor that they used to get. We are also seeing that many farmers are beginning to turn to prison labor. This should be a concern to us, all of us who want to make sure that all of those people out of jobs right now in this country who would like to work on farms would have the chance to get that work. There is an article from the Christian Science Monitor that refers to this problem. I would like to include that in the Record. There also is an article about a settlement that was reached with workers regarding the attempt by a major agricultural company to circumvent Department of Labor rules and also circumvent the H-2A program that resulted actually in a settlement of a very prominent lawsuit about a month ago. I would like to include that article from the Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid. [From the Christian Science Monitor, Aug. 22, 2007] U.S. Farmers Using Prison Labor With tightening restrictions on migrant workers, some farmers are turning to the incarcerated. For labor-rights activists, federal immigration reform is the only viable solution to worker shortages. Marc Grossman, spokesman for the United Farm Workers of America, says inmate labor undermines what unionized farm workers have wanted for years: to be paid based on skill and experience. ``It's rather insulting that the state [Arizona] would look so poorly on farm workers that they would attempt to use inmates,'' Grossman says. There is also the food- safety aspect, he says: Experienced workers understand sanitary harvesting. ``Agriculture does not have a reliable workforce, and the answer does not lie with prison labor,'' says Paul Simonds of the Western Growers Association, a trade association representing California and Arizona. ``This just underscores the need for legislation to be passed to provide a legal, stable workforce.'' A prison lockdown would be disastrous, he points out, with perishable crops awaiting harvest. Other crops, like asparagus and broccoli, require skilled workers. Although the ADC is considering innovative solutions-- including satellite prisons--to fulfill companies' requests for inmate labor, prison officials agree that, in the end, the demand is too high. ``To go into a state where agriculture is worth $9.2 billion and expect to meet a workforce need is impossible,'' says Katie Decker, spokeswoman for ADC. At any given time only about 3,300 prisoners statewide (out of a prison population of about 37,000) are cleared to work outside. ACI provides inmates to nine private agriculture companies in Arizona, ranging from a hydroponics greenhouse tomato plant to a green chile cannery. Unlike other sectors where federal regulations require that inmate workers be paid a prevailing wage and receive worker compensation, agriculture companies can hire state inmates on a contract basis. They must be paid a minimum of $2 per hour. Thirty percent of their wages go to room and board in prison. The rest goes to court-ordered restitution for victims, any child support, and a mandatory savings account. Private companies are required to pay for transportation from the prison to the worksite and for prison guards. For Reyna, his work on farms over the past couple of years has added $9,000 in his savings account and given him a renewed respect for his Mexican father's lifetime of stoop labor. At Dixon's farm, it's 103 degrees F. The inmate crews, wearing orange jumpsuits, work in a rhythmic line, calling out the number of the watermelons, and alongside the trailer. Just a few yards away, Mexican workers also work in a line. The inmates will quit at 4 p.m., while the immigrant laborers may work 13-hour days. ``We go back, they stay out there,'' Reyna says. ``It really isn't the same.'' In the farm's office, watermelons line the counter, and photos of migrant workers hang in dusty frames. When asked why he doesn't sell the farm, Dixon says, ``the inmates, the migrants, these people are part of the family--that's why I keep this darn place.'' Dixon says he supports the idea of a reformed, guest-worker program that would employ migrant workers during the harvest and return them to Mexico in the winter. But until that happens, he's willing to fight for the workers he's shared the land with for most of his life. ``People are crossing the border because they are starving to death,'' Dixon says, ``I don't care what their status is. If they are hungry and thirsty, I am going to feed them. ``I could sell this and quit,'' he continues, ``But I believe in supporting the American farming industry.'' [From the Texas RioGrande Legal Aid Press Center, Mar. 26, 2008] Farmworkers Reach Settlement in Lawsuit Against Watermelon Grower Eagle Pass, TX.--Twenty two Texas farmworkers have reached a settlement with three Rio Grande Valley companies over a lawsuit regarding the importation of more than 400 foreign guestworkers into the United States between 2001 and 2007. Represented by Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA), the leading provider of legal aid in Texas, the workers claimed that Nowell Borders, L.P., Hargill Harvesting & Packing, Inc., Mata Trucking Company, and Martinez Packing Company, upon advice of counsel, misused the U.S. visa program to hire foreign labor and avoid providing housing, transportation, and meals to workers. The companies applied for guestworker visas using the H-2B program instead of the H-2A program which would have required the recruitment of domestic workers at higher wages. ``This settlement signifies a commitment on behalf of all four companies to engage in fair employment practices and respect the rights of American farmworkers,'' said TRLA attorney Javier Riojas. The settlement also creates a mechanism for resolving future disputes without resorting to litigation. John Flanigan, Executive Vice President for Hargill Harvesting and Packing, Inc., states he was pleased with the agreement that was reached and enjoyed working with TRLA to resolve the dispute. The companies compensated the workers for more than $60,000 in wages and agreed to modify their employment practices so that U.S. workers are hired first and receive equal pay and benefits compared to foreign workers. The companies also agreed to use the H-2A guestworker program that provides more benefits and protections for workers than the H-2B program. Originally filed in October 2007, the lawsuit also targeted the Department of Labor (DOL) for its failure to enforce the regulations on the guestworker program. The case against DOL is not part of the settlement and is still ongoing. See Riojas, et al v. Chao, DR-07-CA-058, W.D. Tex., filed Oct. 9, 2007. ``The law guarantees that U.S. workers have certain protections over foreign labor. The Department of Labor looked the other way in this situation and the federal government, of all entities, should be looking out for U.S. workers the most,'' added TRLA attorney and Equal Justice Works Fellow Jake Wedemeyer. Established in 1970, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc. (TRLA) is a nonprofit organization that provides free civil legal services to low-income and disadvantaged clients in a 68- country service area. TRLA's mission is to promote the dignity, self-sufficiency, safety and stability of low-income Texas residents by providing high-quality legal assistance and related educational services. If we keep in mind there are 4.2 billion pounds of watermelons grown in this country annually, we understand that this is a very important business. It is also, as my friend Representative Foxx points out, a matter that relates to nutrition and health; and let's face it, enjoyment. People love watermelon. While enjoying it, we need to keep in mind the people who are doing the work raising this tremendous fruit. Let's remember those workers and make sure that they have basic rights. Let's make sure that they can make a living and support their families. Let's make sure that they live in conditions that are humane. In that way we can truly celebrate National Watermelon Month, not only for those consuming watermelons, but also those helping to grow and harvest those watermelons. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 892) expressing support for designation of March 11, 2008, as ``National Funeral Director and Mortician Recognition Day,'' as amended.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, in recognition of the fact that one of our colleagues, Representative Wilson who I am proud to say is from the State of Ohio, has a family-owned business and is a funeral director, I yield him such time as he may consume.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I support this resolution. I am from Cleveland, Ohio, and all of us know in any community we are from, we come into contact with funeral directors and morticians. Funeral directors make it possible for families to be able to find a way to come to grips with a passing. Those transitions in life are very important moments for the survivors because we need help in being able to deal with a situation when we lose a loved one, and funeral directors perform a very valuable service. I know as someone who represents the people of Cleveland that when I go to pay my respects to someone who has passed, I have the opportunity not only to meet the families that are grieving and comfort them, but also to see the work that is being done by those who are directing the funeral. It is something that is easy to lose sight of when you are moving into territory that is laden with grief. But it is also something that is appropriate for us at this moment to pay tribute to because everyone who is involved in that work really has to achieve a level of sensitivity and compassion and caring so that they can help families deal with what for many is one of the most serious moments of their lives involving the passing of a loved one. I want to thank Representative Wilson for his choice of career and his family's commitment to providing that kind of compassionate service to people, and also my colleague, Representative Foxx, for supporting this bill.

Mr. KUCINICH. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, approximately 11 percent of our Nation's households are ``food insecure,'' meaning hungry or at risk of hunger. This includes over twelve million children. According to a recent study from the Center for Community Solutions, 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. In March 2008, the World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations issued an emergency appeal to member nations asking for $500 million to help close the funding gap created by increasing food and fuel prices. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) echoed a similar plea in March saying that an additional $200 million was needed to meet emergency food aid needs. Unrest has broken out around the globe due to rising food costs. In Cameroon, where food costs have increased by 50 percent over the last year, 4 days of rioting ended with a death toll of at least 40 people. Violent demonstrations have broken out in Senegal, a country that imports the majority of its food, over the rising prices of rice and milk. In Yemen, multiple days of rioting, spurred by a doubling of wheat prices over a 2 month period, culminated in one hundred arrests. A new study released by the international NGO, GRAIN, states that ``[f]armers across the world produced a record 2.3 billion tons of grain in 2007, up 4% on the previous year . . . the bottom line is that there is enough food produced in the world to feed the population.'' The following article by Anuradha Mittal raises valid questions that we must address in our fight against global hunger: [From the Oakland Institute Reporter] Dangerous Liaisons: A Battle Plan From the United Nations and the International Financial Institutions To Fight Global Hunger (By Anuradha Mittal) UN agencies are meeting in Berne to tackle the world food price crisis. Heads of International Financial Institutions (IFIs), including Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank (former U.S. trade representative) and Pascal Lamy, WTO's Director General, are among the attendees. Will the ``battle plan'' emerging from the Swiss capital, a charming city with splendid sandstone buildings and far removed from the grinding poverty and hunger which has reduced people to eating mud cakes in Haiti and scavenging garbage heaps, be more of the same--promote free trade to deal with the food crisis. The growing social unrest against food prices has forced governments to take policy measures such as export bans, to fulfill domestic needs. This has created uproar among policy circles as fear of trade being undermined sets in. ``The food crisis of 2008 may become it challenge to globalization,'' exclaims The Economist in its April 17. 2008 issue. Not surprisingly then, the ``Doha Development Round'' which has been in a stalemate since the collapse of the 2003 WTO Ministerial in Cancun, largely due to the hypocrisy of agricultural polices of the rich nations, is being resuscitated as a solution to rising food prices. Speaking at the Center for Global Development, Zoellick passionately argued that the time was ``now or never'' for breaking the Doha Round impasse and reaching a global trade deal. Pascal Lamy has argued, ``At a time when the world economy is in rough waters, concluding the Doha Round can provide strong anchor.'' Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the IMF, has claimed, ``No one should forget that all countries rely on open trade to feed their populations. Completing the Doha round would play a critically helpful role in this regard, as it would reduce trade barriers and distortions and encourage agricultural trade.'' Preaching at the altar of free market to deal with the current crisis requires a degree of official amnesia. It was through the removal of tariff barriers, through the international trade agreements, that allowed rich nations such as the U.S. to dump heavily subsidized farm surplus in developing countries while destroying their agricultural base and undermining local food production. Reduction of rice tariffs from 100 to 20 percent in Ghana under structural adjustment policies enforced by the World Bank, rice imports increased from 250,000 tons in 1998 to 415,150 tons in 2003, with 66 percent of rice producers recording negative returns leading to loss of employment. In Cameroon, poultry imports increased by about six-fold with the lowering of tariff protection to 25 percent while import increases wiped out 70 percent of Senegal's poultry industry. Developing countries had an overall agricultural trade surplus of almost US $7 billion per year in the 1960s. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), gross imports of food by developing countries grew with trade liberalization, turning into a food trade deficit of more than US $11 billion by 2001 with cereal import bill for Low Income Food Deficit Countries reaching over $38 billion in 2007/2008. Erosion of agricultural base of the developing countries has increased hunger among their farmers while destroying their ability to meet their food needs. The 1996 World Food Summit's commitment to reduce the number of hungry--815 million then--by half by 2015 had already become a far- fetched idea by its 10th anniversary. U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Jean Ziegler, reported last June that nearly 854 million people in the world--one in every six human beings--are gravely undernourished. So on who's behalf are the heads of the IFIs promoting the conclusion of the Doha Round and further liberalization of agriculture. While Investors Chronicle in its April 2008 feature story, ``Crop Boom Winners'' explores how investors can gain exposure to the dramatic turnaround in food and farmland prices, a new report from GRAIN, Making a Killing, from the Food Crisis, shows Cargill, the world's biggest grain trader, achieved an 86 percent increase in profits from commodity trading in the first quarter of 2008: Bunge had a 77 percent increase in profits during the last quarter of 2007; ADM, the second largest grain trader in the world, registered a 67 percent increase in profits in 2007. Behind the chieftains of the capitalist system are powerful transnational corporations, traders, and speculators who trade food worldwide, determine commodity prices, create and then manipulate shortages and surpluses to their advantage, and are the real beneficiaries of international trade agreements. The vultures of greed are circling the carcasses of growing hunger and poverty as another 100 million join the ranks of the world's poorest--nearly 3 billion people who live on less than $2 a day. Agriculture is fundamental to the well-being of all people, both in terms of access to safe and nutritious food and as the foundation of healthy communities, cultures, and environment. The answer to the current crisis will not come from the WTO or the World Bank, but lies in the principles of food sovereignty that can ensure food self- sufficiency for each nation. It is time for the developing countries to uphold the rights of their people to safe and nutritious food and break with decades of ill-advised policies that have failed to benefit their people.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, since late January 2008, the 1.5 million person population in Gaza has been enduring an Israeli-imposed blockade. The blockade effectively restricts the entry of food, clean water, fuel, and medical supplies. The lack of basic goods has severely deteriorated Gaza's health, economy, and social fabric. The World Bank reports that since Hamas ousted Fatah from Gaza last June, 90 percent of businesses have shut down costing workers more than 100,000 jobs. Due to the closure of Gaza's borders and its inability to import raw materials, farmers and businesses are unable to produce and export their goods leaving nearly half a million people without an income. According to Oxfam, today 80 percent of Gaza's population is dependent on food aid. On April 24th, the United Nations, UN, announced the suspension of their food aid program to 650,000 Gazans, 56 percent of whom are children, due to a lack of fuel for their trucks. These restrictions exacerbate an already dire humanitarian crisis in which 17.5 percent of children under the age of five suffer from chronic malnutrition. Water and wastewater systems have also become a casualty of the blockade. Gaza's water and wastewater system is heavily reliant on diesel-powered generators. Due to the restrictions on the entry of diesel into Gaza, many water pumps do not have the power to provide running water. Additionally, the sewage system dates back to 1967 and was meant to provide for a population one-third the size of Gaza's Population. The lack of clean water and an adequate sewage system has led to a sanitary water crisis in Gaza. According to a recent UN publication, seventy-five percent of Gaza's drinking water is polluted. The lack of clean water and a proper sewage system has caused infestations of small organisms such as amoeba that have led to several ailments including abdominal colic, diarrhea, and constipation. The sewage crisis has also led to overflow. On March 27, 2007, a wall of human waste overflowed into Gaza's residential areas and caused the death of children and elderly people. According to the United Relief Works Agency, UNRWA, ``Gaza is on the threshold of becoming the first territory to be intentionally reduced to a state of abject destitution, with the knowledge, acquiescence and, some would say, encouragement of the international community.'' Israel must protect its citizens and ensure their security, but pursuant to the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israel also has a legal duty to provide Gazans with food, clean water, electricity, and medical care. I urge the U.S. Administration to help end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and ensure the health, safety, and security for Palestinians and Israelis.

Mr. KUCINICH

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5631) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1155 Seminole Trail in Charlottesville, Virginia, as the ``Corporal Bradley T. Arms Post Office Building''.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I'm pleased to join my colleagues from the Commonwealth of Virginia in consideration of H.R. 5631, which names a postal facility in Charlottesville, Virginia, after Corporal Bradley T. Arms, a distinguished and heroic American serviceman. H.R. 5631 was introduced by Representative Goode of Virginia on March 13, 2008, and was considered by and reported from the Oversight Committee on April 9 by a voice vote. The measure has the support of the entire congressional delegation from Virginia, and provides us with another opportunity to pay tribute to a member of our country's Armed Forces. A 20-year-old University of Georgia student from Charlottesville, Virginia, Corporal Bradley T. Arms was assigned to the 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Corps Reserve, out of Baltimore, Maryland. Corporal Arms left college the summer before his junior year to enlist in the United States Marine Corps where he would later serve a tour of duty in Iraq until his tragic death on November 19, 2004. Corporal Arms was killed in action in the Anbar province of Iraq. Mr. Speaker, let's remember and pay tribute to the ultimate sacrifice made by Corporal Arms and pass H.R. 5631. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I would ask that all of our colleagues join us in paying respect, appreciation, and gratitude to the life and the service of Corporal Bradley Arms by joining us in approving this resolution which honors his name by naming a United States post office facility after him in recognition of his sacrifice. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlelady from North Carolina.