Mark Kirk

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Ney), the gentleman from California (Chairman Thomas), the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin), and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Reynolds) for their support for my language which will allow polling places near military families. This language clarifies an arcane statute that outlaws ``military presence at voting facilities.'' It allowed the Department of Defense to vastly overreach their legislative authority in 1999 to ban polling on military bases. Nothing damages the military franchise more than this action. The U.S. Code that our language amends was enacted in 1865 in response to irregularities during the 1863 elections. At that time it was an appropriate response. However, the 1999 DOD interpretation made voting for our men and women in uniform very difficult. When the DOD issued the directive to base commanders banning voting, it forced existing polling places to be closed; and according to CRS in an April 2000 survey, at least 20 States had to close polling places that were vulnerable. Some of these places had been voting for over 15 years. It is time to return control of voting to local officials. I applaud the gentleman for putting this in and assuring that our military franchise is upheld.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the rule and Trade Promotion Authority. I wish that opponents of free trade had as much faith in our workers as our military. As our forces fight and win in Afghanistan, opponents of free trade say Americans cannot win in business. Americans are not losers. We are winners, and we need only a chance to compete to win. TPA will also lower international import taxes on Americans. As we start holiday shopping, we pay import taxes on backpacks, shoes and other clothes for the kids. TPA lowers these taxes, and, in sum, will put $1,300 in the pockets of American families. If you like paying import taxes to other countries, vote against free trade. If you think Americans can compete and win, support Trade Promotion Authority for our President.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall vote 478, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, there comes a time in the life of a democracy when their leaders must respond to terror by unleashing a terrible, swift sword. That is this time for our allies in Israel. Under the previous prime minister, Yasar Arafat was offered a choice. At Camp David and again at Taba, he chose between an offer of 97 percent of the territories or the gun. He chose the gun. Many Americans thought that Arafat could make a courageous decision like Nelson Mandela to surrender the gun and govern a state, or Arafat could follow the path of Fidel Castro and preside over increasing isolation and destruction. Arafat chose unwisely and conducted a wave of violence against teenagers and commuters. His apologists say that Arafat has no power. They are wrong. He has no judgment. President Bush put the question clearly after September 11, you are either with the terrorists or you are with the West. You cannot condemn the Taliban and hug Hezbollah. Egypt and Jordan chose wisely: Peace with Israel. Arafat chose war. He is now harvesting the wrath of a democracy and her American ally. Americans are best when we stand with our democratic allies, and now is the time to stand with Israel. Together, we will show that the way of the suicide bomber leads nowhere, and only negotiations with the democratically elected leaders of Israel can lead to peace. I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) and especially the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for his leadership on this.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor) for organizing this Special Order and rise in support of Trade Promotion Authority. One-third of all American families depend directly or indirectly on foreign trade for their income, and America is the number one exporting nation in the world. But unless we act to promote fair and free trade, this leadership will fade. Trade Promotion Authority ensures that the United States will have better access to foreign markets while strengthening domestic industries. An increasingly important force behind our Nation's economic growth is the high-tech sector. In the past 5 years, high-tech industry accounted for one-third of the growth of our gross domestic product. It lowered our inflation rate and created 1.5 million new high-paying jobs. Overall, the world market for IT products rose steadily to $1.3 trillion in 2000 and is expected to grow as companies take further advantage of the Internet and e-commerce. In the United States, the information sector employment rose by 15 percent from 1997 to over 2 million jobs last year. Additionally, more than half of the 2.6 percent increase in U.S. labor productivity between 1996 and 1999 was directly related to increasing investment in IT. What may not be known is that U.S. high-tech companies exported $223 billion in merchandise last year. In Illinois, the number of companies exporting increased by 50 percent from 1992 to 1998. Mr. Speaker, Motorola, which is based in Chicago's northern suburbs, is one of our Nation's leading exporters of high-tech goods. In the past several years, their exports have increased steadily. Last year almost two-thirds of Motorola's sales were exported. Additionally, thanks to the innovation of the Internet and e-commerce, health care companies such as Allegiance and Medline, based in northern Illinois, greatly contributed to overall Internet sales transactions worldwide, providing critical health care supplies for hospitals both here and abroad. Allegiance alone provides goods to over 80 countries and has 20 subsidiaries worldwide. These companies support incomes of thousands of families in Deerfield, Vernon Hills, and Libertyville. If we grant the President Trade Promotion Authority and these employees continue to take advantage of the Internet, more jobs will be created in Illinois's high-tech sector. New markets represent an enormous opportunity for high-tech industry to maintain our global leadership. With 500 million people living south of our border and Latin America with only 18 million personal computers on hand, now is the time to open new markets to America's high-tech goods. While the Information Technology Agreement eliminated duties in the IT sector in some major markets, the larger markets of Latin America are not a party to this agreement. Tariffs on IT products in key Latin American countries remains as high as 30 percent. Beyond tariffs, IT products also face nontariff restrictions such as redundant testing and certification requirements. U.S. suppliers, including those in Illinois, will see a rise in job creation if these barriers are lifted. And if we act now and give trade promotion to the President, we can accomplish this. Opportunity is a two-way street. Opening markets in Latin America to computers and the Internet will help modernize their economies while, at the same time, promoting free markets, competition, and improved quality of life. As computer and new technologies bring opportunity for economic growth in Latin America, U.S. jobs will be created. Since NAFTA was enacted, the United States exports to Canada and Mexico have increased 104 percent. Every day, America transacts an estimated $1.8 billion in trade with our NAFTA partners at a rate of $1,200,000 a minute. In 2000, America's exports to our NAFTA partners grew 30 percent faster than to exports to the rest of the world. Since 1992, open markets with Mexico and Canada created more than 20 million new jobs in the U.S., with wages and workers supported at incomes 13 to 18 percent higher than the national average. NAFTA is a proven trade agreement that has led to success for American business. If we fail the President on Trade Promotion Authority, we will fall behind the curve and the cost will be American jobs. Already, nations worldwide have entered into an estimated 130 preferential trade agreements, while the United States is just party to two, one being NAFTA and the other with our allies in Israel. Only 11 percent of the world exports are covered by American trade agreements, compared to 33 percent for European Union free trade agreements and Customs arrangements. We must act now, and every day America delays, America loses. Communities, families, businesses, and workers lose opportunities and income that could come with expanded markets for American goods and services. During this time of economic uncertainty, it is crucial that we grant the President Trade Promotion Authority to open new opportunities for American businesses and to preserve American jobs. Past trade agreements have benefited the typical family of four in Illinois by $1,300 per year. Illinois exports totaled over $2,500 for every man, woman, and child in our State. Over 350,000 Illinois families depend on exports for their income, with another 150,000 indirectly depending on export business. Since 1993 and the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada, Illinois increased our exports to those two countries by 73 percent. Let me look at one key industry: environmental technology, which grew its exports to Mexico by 385 percent. Exports from the city of Chicago alone totaled $21 billion last year. Over 1,400 businesses in Illinois exported last year, and 86 percent of them were small- and medium-sized companies. Take the case of Fluid Management in Wheeling. Over 60 percent of the company's business depends on exports. Mr. Speaker, 360 jobs alone. And Fluid's skilled engineering force grew from 6 in 1989 to over 100 by 1996. The firm has expanded here, at home, and in Australia, Europe, and Latin America. After NAFTA, Fluid opened offices in Latin America. The total number of exporting companies in Illinois grew from 9,400 to 14,200 and, in sum, Illinois exported over $32 billion last year to 208 foreign markets. That is why we need to pass Trade Promotion Authority in this Congress, and, once passed, we will lower tariffs against American goods and enable exports to lead our country out of recession. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor) for organizing this Special Order on the need to boost exports in America. They are important for Virginia, and they are important for my State of Illinois.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Chairman, I rise to speak to issues regarding the Great Lakes dental facility activity and the need for the high-speed anti- radiation missile. Mr. Chairman, the Great Lakes facility, in my district, is home to the military dental research program, a joint venture of the Navy and Army. In fiscal year 2001, the Congress provided $4 million for this program. The research done at this laboratory is unique and not duplicated by any other federal or civilian research program. It focuses on keeping our nation's troops orally healthy and prepared for active duty at all times. Because of funding provided by Congress and your Committee, the dental researchers have been able to develop: a combat face shield to prevent head and neck casualties; dental materials which can be used in harsh military environments; and an anti-plaque agent to prevent dental diseases during military deployments. Recent figures from Bosnia showed that there was a dental emergency rate of 15.6 percent for deployed personnel. A dental emergency is when active duty personnel are out of action due to an oral condition. Evacuating soldiers because of severe oral conditions can be very expensive . . . costing thousands of dollars. Therefore, the researchers' goal is to keep the troops in good oral health and to perform treatment on site. Research underway today is also focusing on trying to prevent such emergencies from happening. They hope to more accurately identify patients at high risk and prevent dental emergencies before they undermine troop readiness. It is my understanding, that with sufficient funding the saliva test for anthrax could be successfully developed and delivered within 6 months. However, the administration requested no funding for this program, and the Committee was unable to provide funding for this program in its fiscal year 2002 recommendations. Without Congressional funding, this research will be discontinued. Therefore, I hope that when we go to conference on this bill, that we will be able to find sufficient funding to continue this program and its valuable research. I want to applaud the Committee on Appropriations for an important recommendation which will lead to a significant upgrade in our military's ability to destroy enemy air defenses. The Committee has included $33.6 million for the Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile program in order to continue the upgrade of the HARM missile guidance system. As my colleagues know and all Americans have come to appreciate over the last decade, suppressing air defenses is often the first task of our combined air forces when the U.S. undertakes a military action. This was true in Desert Storm, true in Kosovo, and has been proven true again in the skies over Afghanistan. Suppression of these defenses starts with eliminating the surface-to- air missile threat. Our principal weapon to accomplish this critical task is the HARM missile. Yet HARM technology is two decades old. To guide the missile to a target radar, that radar must continue operating throughout the flight of the HARM missile. The guidance system cannot adjust adequately if the radar is turned off. Our adversaries have had many years to learn of such deficiencies, and without question have learned to capitalize on them by limiting the duration of a radar beam and relying on alternate tracking capabilities. In the Kosovo air campaign, approximately 1000 HARM weapons were fired, resulting in the destruction of only a handful of targets. The cost per kill was unacceptably high--over $80 million per target. Fortunately, the Navy is currently developing a new seeker, the AARGM, which will replace the existing HARM guidance system. The program has achieved success thus far in three tests at the Navy's China Lake test center in California. On August 29, after the third test, the Navy announced that the test missile ``successfully identified, tracked, and guided to the simulated air defense radar target and impacted within the lethal radius of the HARM warhead. All test objectives were achieved. With this success, the evolution of the HARM weapon system from a SEAD, Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses, to a DEAD, Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses, weapon continues on a successful path.'' Mr Chairman, as a Naval Reserve Officer leading a team of intelligence personnel in EA-6B Prowler electronic attack aircraft over northern Iraq and Yugoslavia, I have witnessed first hand the shortcomings of our existing capability to suppress enemy air defense. I judge the effort to upgrade this capability to be vital to our national security. Frankly, upgrading the HARM seeker should only be the first step. We also need to move forward rapidly to replace the HARM system in its entirety. But AARGM is an excellent interim measure, and I urge the Committee to support this item in conference to provide greater protection for our air assets and personnel.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Becerra) for this resolution. In June of 1950, when the 38th parallel became a dividing line between North and South Korea, it dramatically divided the country and symbolized the polarity in the Cold War. Millions of Koreans lost communication with their families and loved ones living across the border. Fifty years later, in June of last year, South Korean President Kim Dae Jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il made a promise to bring together the divided families of North and South Korea. After 50 years of political strife and social unrest, families are finally crossing the 38th parallel once again, reuniting with loved ones that were once lost to each other during the Cold War. While we should encourage this reunification between North and South Korean families, there is one set of families that have been left out, 500,000 Korean Americans who have been separated from their families. Last year's summit was just the beginning of efforts to bring these two nations together. Not only are families reuniting across the border but economic ties are being strengthened; and there are positive efforts under way, including a cross-border railway and construction of a North Korean industrial park for businesses from the South. We must now make every effort to ensure that Korean Americans are part of this reconciliation. As a congressional staff member, I traveled to North Korea twice and witnessed firsthand the starvation and lack of medical supplies and care. For over 50 years, citizens in North Korea have endured countless hardships at the cost of their government. As cooperation begins to start between North and South Korea, we must take action to ensure that citizens from our own country with relatives in North Korea benefit as well. The Illinois Ethnic Coalition estimates that 40,000 Korean Americans live in Chicago and another 60,000 live in Chicago suburbs. Too many citizens in my district are waiting to hear from loved ones in North Korea. In September, the Korean-American Coalition of the Midwest collected 20,000 signatures in a petition calling for the U.S. Government to raise the issue of family reunification with officials of the North Korean Government. I recently joined this coalition in a meeting with Secretary of State Colin Powell to encourage the reunification of North Korean families with their Korean-American relatives. I want to directly thank Secretary Powell for receiving us and agreeing to put the issue of reunification of North Koreans with their Korean-American families on the dialogue between the United States and the DPRK. I strongly support this resolution as an important step in promoting the reunification of Americans of Korean ancestry with their families in North Korea. In the end, I hope Korean Americans like Cha Hee Stanfield will be able to see her relatives and say hello to her Korean relatives.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for this critical piece of legislation in memory of the 5,000 Colombian policemen that have died in the battle against drugs. This is an important piece of legislation. I applaud the gentleman for his support for U.S. national security. This bill helps to dry up the source of money for drugs that would support terrorism after September 11. I want to thank Chairman Thomas, Mr. Rangel, and Chairman Crane, for sending the Congress a Renewal of the Andean Trade Preference Act. Eleven years ago, I served President Bush and Secretary Baker as part of the State Department handling western hemisphere affairs. In one of the bravest missions of his presidency, President Bush went to Cartagena, Colombia to stand against the Medellin cartel drug lords and with the new democracies of the Andes. As part of our commitment, I worked to craft the first Andean act to boost the legal businesses and democracies of the Andes. Since that bipartisan landmark legislation, the Medellin cartel was crushed and trade of Andean countries shot up 80 percent. Over 140,000 jobs have been created, bolstering the economies of embattled democracies. After September 11, the American people learned that we are fighting a new enemy: wealthy terrorists. Their wealth comes from that illegal drug trade. If we are to win this battle, we are going to use this Trade Preference Act to help the democratic governments of the region to offer their people a new way, based on trade with America. I want to thank the governments of Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru for their help. I want to especially highlight Colombia whose National Police Force has lost over 5,400 officers in the battle against drug lords and right-wing paramilitaries. This bill offers economic growth, democracy and human rights. I command the Ways and Means Committee and urge its adoption.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Alaska (Chairman Young), the gentleman from Florida (Chairman Mica), the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), and my partner in support of Chicago's aviation, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski), for this bill. The historic compromise gives the American people an aviation security bill well before Thanksgiving; and once implemented, we will have a security system even better than the Israeli system that served as a model for our bill. I want to thank the committee especially for including two provisions that I requested. First, under this bill, Americans will protect Americans at U.S. airports. Over 90 percent of the screeners who allowed hijackers to board at Dulles International Airport were not American citizens. Some of them were even illegal aliens. This bill requires that the Federal screeners will be United States citizens. Also, this bill establishes a sky 911 program. Currently, a passenger dialing 911 on an air phone will get no answer; but under this bill, a passenger dialing 911 in response to someone's heart attack or hijackers will be answered by a trained professional who will find expert law enforcement or health care help. Help is now just a phone call away, and I thank the technical people in Chicago who pioneered this for the cell-phone industry to now work for air phones. As a new member of the Subcommittee on Aviation, I am committed to aviation safety, especially at O'Hare; and I urge the adoption of this bill and thank my leaders for doing it.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the bill, H.R. 2998, authored by the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), recreating Radio Free Afghanistan. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty previously broadcast to Afghanistan from 1985 to the end of fiscal year 1993. Although it broadcast to Afghanistan during the last half of the Soviet-Afghan war, RFE/RL had been reporting on the war and its happenings in Afghanistan since the 1979 invasion through its other services in Russian, Turkmen, Tajik, and Uzbek. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has a 50-year-plus history of delivering accurate and timely information to areas that would not otherwise receive it. The creation of Radio Free Asia in the 1990s built on this tradition. Currently, Afghans are in desperate need of access to this information. Although RFE/RL is currently not broadcasting into Afghanistan, it is providing vital information about the war through its other services to other countries in the region. One example can be found in the case of Afghan resistance general Abdurashid Dustom. Recently, Russian TV programs reported the killing of this prominent anti- Taliban general. The reports were picked up by media in various Central Asian countries and broadcast throughout the region. Just 2 hours after the first Russian report, RFE/RL's Tajik service aired an interview with General Dustom himself, denying the false reports. Subsequently, RFE/RL's Turkmen, Uzbek, and Persian services also broadcast the interview. A 1999 study conducted by the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors, concluded that 80 percent of Afghan men listen to the Voice of America. The need to provide these men with accurate information from their country and around the world has never been greater. I also want to thank the Czech people for their decision to host RFE/ RL in Central Europe. Building on Vaclav Havel's experience as a prisoner of conscience listening to Radio Liberty underscores the value of this service. Unlike BBC World Service and other radios, RFE/RL provides unbiased news about unfree societies in their own language about their own society. The difference is key and the service is invaluable. I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) for introducing this bill, and also the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the chairman, and Congress' hero on human rights, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for bringing it to the floor today. This is one of the many tools we will need to fight terrorism around the globe, and arming citizens with the truth is the best way to bring about change, victory and reducing American casualties.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. I will note that it has been 25 years since an Israeli aircraft has been successfully attacked.

Mr. KIRK. It is not.

Mr. KIRK. That is, but that is a critical difference from the current status quo, which we are against. Over half of all the screeners in the United States are not American citizens. Over 90 percent of the screeners at Dulles were not American citizens. In fact, prior to the September 11 attack, the Department of Transportation Inspector General was leading an investigation of illegal aliens who were serving as airport screeners. All of this will come to a stop under our bill.

Mr. KIRK. No. Well over half of the 20,000 screeners, by the terms of our bill, would automatically be discharged from their duties because they are not American citizens. We would have to upgrade to the new system under regulations and supervision by the Department of Transportation under the Secretary for Security, and these people would be badged Federal transportation security officers with full arrest powers at the screening site.

Mr. KIRK. That is correct, as well. We stand for a key principle: that U.S. citizens should protect U.S. citizens at U.S. airports. There is a critical danger here in the war on terrorism which will take quite some time. The al-Qaeda organization, with its vast network and resources, is able to put sleeper agents into countries who could then take jobs as airport security agents. But I will note of the hijackers, none were American citizens. We would give the flying public that extra level of security by making sure that only people with a U.S. passport can even apply for these jobs.

Mr. KIRK. Correct. And there is another thing. In the current airport security program, turnover can reach 400 percent, but in the U.S. Marshal Court Security Officer Program, turnover is less than any normal civilian, 4 percent. So we have a stable, highly-trained force with law enforcement experience that protects that critical Federal courtroom where many criminals are asked to come. That is delegated to deputized Federal agents.

Mr. KIRK. Yes. They are badged, uniformed, armed deputized U.S. Marshals.

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, it is. I was very honored to be able to contact Israel's Ambassador David Ivry who dispatched a team from Israel to brief the Congress and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in particular on this. We had six to nine Members there, about 70 staffers. We looked at not just the screening problem, but they took the airport security problem as layers of an onion. Each layer had to work. Transportation security, El Al, had to be able to task Mossad with tasks to collect foreign intelligence. We had to take care of the tarmac, the ramp, the gates, and then the aircraft itself. Mr. Speaker, this is a life or death function. We need to be able to discharge screeners who allow weapons aboard the aircraft. We have the models. We have looked at El Al. We looked at the Marshal Court Security Officer Program, and we have learned the lessons of security that have worked well against Hezbollah, the PFLP, the El Rukin drug gangs and the Mafia. Our bill ensures highly trained professionals with a badge will protect us, but also that their supervisor will have the power to be able to replace screeners who fail us in this life or death mission. I will also note that our bill makes one other change. In the chairman's amendment we have a deadline that by December, 2003, all baggage will be screened. The Secretary of Transportation has focused particular attention on the government's deployment of the CTx 550 machines that will enable us to reach our goal of having all the baggage entering not just the passenger compartment but also the cargo hold to be screened for weapons and explosives. That gives us the critical edge in security that this bill would provide. I thank the gentleman for organizing this special order.

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. I would also like to thank the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Thune) for pointing out the difference between the House bill and the Senate bill in treating airports differently. I represent a district which largely uses O'Hare. We are going to have the highest technical level of security. But we are a feeder airport, and if passengers arriving at O'Hare are coming from rural airports that are not protected, then we are not protected. So his point is exactly right, that the Senate bill does not offer the level of protection that the House bill does. We want to federalize airport security, but not rigidly nationalize the system. I must note that all 19 hijackers of the September 11 attack were admitted to the United States by Federal workers. While most Federal workers are hard-working, idealistic Americans, their status as civil servants does not guarantee safety in our skies. We must do better. We need an airport security bill in this Congress; we cannot accept the current status quo. I would note that 90 percent of the screeners at Dulles Airport were not American citizens. Some of the screeners in our country who let terrorists aboard were illegal aliens. Our bill would replace those screeners with American citizens, and we stand for the basic principle that U.S. citizens should protect U.S. citizens at U.S. airports. Our bill also requires that all screeners be deputized, Federal transportation security agents. They will have a common uniform, badge, and arrest powers. Their mission will be clear: As Federal transportation security agents, they will ensure that when we fly, we fly safe. We want these agents to have arrest powers under rules in which they are highly paid and trained. Our models for such security arrangements are two: Israel's El Al Airlines and the U.S. Marshals' Court Security Officer Program. With regard to El Al, El Al Airlines has operated under a 30-year threat from terrorism. The combined El Al team has defeated attempts by the PLO, the PFLB, Black September and Hezbollah to hijack Israeli airlines. El Al has evolved into a public-private partnership, and its partners in the Israeli Government, as well as its contractors, Israeli Security Agency and Mossad, have formed a team that has defeated all terrorist attacks in the past. I will note that Mossad regularly tries to screen weapons and explosives aboard Israeli aircraft to test the screeners, and if those screeners fail, they are discharged. Similarly, let us look at a U.S. program, the U.S. Marshals' Court Security Officer Program. This program started in 1983 and currently employs over 3,000 court security officers. They are privately contracted employees, but they are recruited exclusively with 3 years' minimum police experience. Unlike the current airport screeners that failed us, these court security officers are paid $16 to $24 an hour. Their mission is to protect judges, witnesses, juries, prosecutors, and courthouses. In the courtrooms they face a daunting security threat, a much higher threat, I would note, than what screeners face at airports, and we can think of who would come to a Federal courtroom: mobsters, terrorists, drug gangs, mass murderers. But these court security officers perform their function and perform it well with one key difference between them and civil servants. Court security officers can be discharged immediately for allowing weapons and explosives into a courtroom. We provide for all screeners in our bill to be U.S. citizens and to be deputized Federal transportation security agents. We give them standards, supervision, and training, but we do not protect them from their own criminal activity or incompetence. Worse than having no screener is a screener who has job protection that would allow him to permit weapons to kill more Americans aboard an aircraft.

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. I will note that European security officials have started out exclusively with public employees, but they have modified their structure into a public-private partnership, so that now 31 of 35 European airports are this public-private partnership, to ensure the quality of the screening personnel. This was a mixture that allowed them to defeat terrorist threats from the Bader-Meinhof Gang, the Red Brigades, the ELP and the IRA, and it has been a very effective tool used by both our European and Israeli allies.

Mr. KIRK. Correct. In fact, this bill will give us a security system that is even stronger than Israel's. Even El Al at this time does not screen all baggage that enters the cargo hold for weapons and explosives. But under the House Republican bill, we have a deadline of December 2003 that, when using the CTx 550 and other technologies, all bags will be screened. That will give us the world's highest level of security standard.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, U.S. citizens should protect U.S. citizens at airports. Over 90 percent of the screeners who let terrorists board at Dulles Airport were not Americans. Some of them were illegal aliens. The Young-Mica bill requires that all screeners be Americans. The Senate bill has no such requirement. The Young-Mica bill also requires that all screeners be deputized, badged, and uniformed Federal transportation security officers. Like the successful U.S. Marshals Court Security Officers Program, we will deploy Federal transportation security officers who are well- trained and paid, but with key flexibility. Flexibility. It means that we will not protect nationalized employers who incompetently screen weapons or explosives aboard aircraft, killing more Americans. Flexibility means we can fire screeners who fail to protect us. We need high quality screeners who will ensure that when we fly, we fly safe.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, 2 years ago I worshipped at North Chicago's First Corinthian Baptist Church and met Pastor Eugene Roberson. He is a leader. Pastor Roberson is one of our spiritual leaders in northern Illinois. Under his hand, First Corinthian welcomed 800 new members and will dedicate a new sanctuary this Sunday. He is a mentor to young people from Zion, Waukegan, and North Chicago. He is also a seventh grade physical education teacher at Central Junior High School in Zion, Illinois. In recognition of his community service, Pastor Roberson received the distinguished Harambee Award of Excellence from the College of Lake County. Pastor Roberson, a man of integrity and committed to family, is fond of saying, ``God is good all of the time, and all the time, God is good.'' With his wife, Geraldine Herron Roberson, they are proud parents of three, Kristian, LaTonya and Eugene II, who blessed the Robersons with four grandchildren. We look to Pastor Roberson in this time of adversity. We are reassured under his expanding ministry, and it is my honor to thank him for leading the United States Congress in prayer today during our hours of trial. On behalf of Congress, I thank Pastor Roberson.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I applaud the bipartisan cosponsors of this resolution. I want to rise in strong support of H.R. 2899, the Freedom Bonds Act of 2001. This legislation draws upon the heritage of our greatest generation. During World War II, war bonds were one important way that every American could help make sure that our men and women in uniform had what they needed for victory. My own district is home to Libertyville, Illinois. Libertyville sold more war bonds per capita than any other city in America. Libertyville oversubscribed every bond quota assigned, and this achievement led to a unique honor. In the fall of 1942, a young sailor reported for duty at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center. Like the 3 million Americans who entered the Navy there, James Cagney trained for war. On September 10, 1942, he was able to leave the base and paid a unique honor to Libertyville's war bond drive by opening a major Hollywood movie there, Desperate Journey. Desperate Journey was a war thriller starring Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan and it opened at the Libertyville Theater. Tickets went for a $25 war bond, and the evening was a smashing success, raising $110,000 for the war effort. Mr. Speaker, in these tough times after September 11, we return to our values in tested ways to support our country and the cause of freedom. This legislation recalls that spirit of Libertyville to enlist the help of every American in our cause against terrorism. I would hope that this legislation receives quick action and that Libertyville can help launch our State's freedom bond effort. With the help of our historian, Dean Larson, we can join our proud heritage with the mission ahead.

Mr. KIRK

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to me; and I also thank our ranking Democrat member, leader, and original cosponsor of this legislation, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos); the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman); and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) for helping out on this crucial piece of legislation. I also want to thank one of the intellectual authors of this legislation, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman), for his leadership on the debt-for-nature swap initiative. The Coral Reef and Coastal Marine Conservation Act of 2001 will credit qualified developing nations for each dollar spent on a comprehensive reef preservation or management program designed to protect these unique ecosystems from degradation. This bill builds on the model of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act, expanding it to include coral reefs. Madam Speaker, it is said that coral reefs are the rainforests of the ocean. Although they occupy less than one-quarter of 1 percent of the marine environment, coral reefs are home to more than one-quarter of all known marine fish species. Coral reefs are among the most biologically rich ecosystems on Earth. About 4,000 species of fish and 800 species of reef-building corals have already been identified. However, scientists have barely begun to catalogue the total number of species found within these habitats. Their scientific value cannot be underestimated. Yet, they are disappearing at an alarming rate. According to a 1998 study conducted by the United Nations and various international environmental organizations, 58 percent of the world's reefs are potentially threatened by human activity. These activities include coastal development, overfishing, marine pollution, and runoff from inland deforestation and farming. More than one-quarter of the world's reefs are at risk. Predictions made in 1992 were that 10 to 20 years from now, another 30 percent of the world's coral reefs could be effectively destroyed, adding to the 10 percent that already were destroyed. While these numbers sound alarmist, figures today show that they are conservative. Most Caribbean and South Pacific mangroves have disappeared, while India, Southeast Asia, and West Africa have each lost about one-half of their mangroves. Almost a half a billion people, 8 percent of the world's population, live within 100 kilometers of a coral reef. A decline in the health of coral reefs has implications for the lives of millions of people who depend upon them. The burden of foreign debt falls especially hard on the smallest nations, such as island nations in the Caribbean and Pacific. With few natural resources, these nations often resort to harvesting or otherwise exploiting coral reefs and other marine habitats to earn hard currency to service foreign debt. At least 40 countries lack any marine protected areas for their coral reef systems. This legislation will make available resources for environmental stewardship that would otherwise be the lowest priority in a developing country. It will reduce debt by investing locally in programs that will strengthen indigenous economies by creating long-term management policies that will preserve the natural resources upon which local commerce is based. The Tropical Forest Conservation Act has set a path for debt-for- nature swaps, and the United States has an important role to play in assisting in the protection of the world's natural resources. This bill extends the support from forests to the oceans, and critical countries like Jamaica, Belize, Dominican Republic, the Philippines, and Thailand could benefit from this legislation. I urge all of my colleagues to support the legislation and take an important step to helping preserve one of the world's largest, most precious, and most threatened resources.