Jerry Lewis

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, with great reservation, I rise to oppose the amendment of the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Fowler). I very simply do so because we do have an agreement presently struck with the people of Vieques. It is our desire to obtain the same objectives as the gentlewoman would wish to obtain. The fact is there is a referendum next year and if we should, by way of legislation in this process, essentially rub the people of Vieques' nose in that process, what more could we do to undermine that election from our point of view? So it seems to me that this is not the time to have such a language. And it is because of that that I very regretfully oppose the gentlewoman's amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I very much appreciate my chairman and colleague, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young), yielding me this time. Indeed, I want to say to my colleagues in the House, but especially to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ramstad), I could not believe more strongly in his expression of concern about the problems that relate to the demand side. Indeed, earlier today we had an extensive discussion regarding that as we went forward with the Pelosi amendment. There is no doubt that America is concerned about impacting the demand for drugs in cities all over America. Indeed, we have made significant commitments over time during this Congress and the past Congress. Clearly, not nearly enough money, but this proposition today is in response to the administration's recommendation that we step forward in a relationship with our neighboring country, Colombia, a country that is attempting to raise between $7 and $8 billion themselves in order to fight the war on drugs at home. Colombia is the source of something like 90 percent of cocaine that is imported into America. There is little doubt, unless we deal directly with that source, that we will never affect that piece of drug availability in the United States. So the proposition before us today is to essentially express support for the President, who is joining us in this effort, the effort to stop the flow of cocaine to our country. Clearly, propositions that would expand the opportunities to impact demand should and do deserve our support. I expect in the months and years ahead that I will join my colleagues in that effort, as I ask all of my colleagues to vote against this amendment and to support the bill in its final passage.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I rise reluctantly to oppose the amendment by the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), who is the ranking member of the subcommittee. It is my privilege to serve on the subcommittee with the gentleman from Alabama (Chairman Callahan) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), and I very much admire their work and the total responsibility we have for foreign operations. Unfortunately, I could not disagree more with the position that the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) has on this specific item that her amendment addresses itself to. I could not disagree more strongly. She would strike that money that allows us to provide for the training of those Colombian troops who will be putting forth the effort to cut off this flow of coca leaves to the United States. I cannot really understand why she would even consider such an action. In the final analysis, this amendment is little more than a mini- amendment of the Obey amendment that was before us a short time ago. The gentleman from Alabama (Chairman Callahan), as well as the Speaker, expressed themselves eloquently and touched every point that needs to be made here. The government of Colombia is doing their very best to put together a package that essentially would stop the production of coca leaves in Colombia that eventually comes into the United States. That flow provides 90 percent of the coca available in the United States. To not be willing to cooperate with that effort on the part of the government of Colombia is sort of a bit of insanity. I cannot understand why the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) in this case, for some reason, chooses to eliminate the money for the training itself. It is a fundamental pillar of that effort. It is the essence of the American effort. Because of that, I would ask that the House consider this last vote and repeat it on the final question regarding the Pelosi amendment.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) from the authorizing committee.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, it is my privilege to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spence), the chairman of the authorizing committee. (Mr. SPENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate my colleague yielding because he makes a very, very important set of points. I would only point out and add to what he has said, the Pelosi amendment addresses really none of these things. The amendment specifically cuts out funding, the bulk of which would take out the ability to train the Colombian troops that we are dealing with in the first place. But the gentleman's original point was the real point, and that is that the Pelosi amendment in this debate would express concern about what we are doing on the demand side and suggests that we are not doing anything. But indeed, there is a comprehensive effort in any number of other committees where it is appropriate to deal with that side of the question. Indeed, if the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) would present an amendment sometime that actually put money into education, for example, I would be glad to help her. But the gentleman is making the point very well, and I appreciate his yielding.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in tribute to Gerry Pope, retiring Executive Director of the California Marine Affairs and Navigation Conference (C-MANC) and his wife Doris. To all of us in the California Congressional Delegation, the 38 federally sponsored ports and harbors in California are emblematic of why the State is today the seventh largest economy in the world. For almost a decade now, Gerry and Doris have worked as a team as the full time administrators of this statewide association. They have aptly managed C-MANC's affairs so that today, California's maritime and marine infrastructure is a symbol of how to enable both domestic economic expansion and international trade development through strong ports and harbors. Mr. Speaker, I am sure all of the members of our State's delegation join me in paying tribute to the work Gerry and Doris Pope have done to ensure the California maintains its prominent position in the Pacific Rim. All of our congressional districts on the coast and inland throughout the State benefit from California's ports. We thank the dedication of these two people over the years to make it all happen. I ask my colleagues to join in thanking Gerry and Doris for their lengthy service and send them best wishes on the occasion of their retirement from service to their State and country.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, this is a humble attempt on my part to remember the life and contributions of a great leader in California, one Ken L. Maddy. Mr. Speaker, all of California can be proud of the favorite son Fresno sent to Sacramento three decades ago. A legislator's legislator, Ken Maddy never was far from the Central Valley district and the agricultural industry he represented. He was elected to the assembly in 1970 in a district with a little over 30 percent Republican registration. As the Democrats of Fresno loved him, the Republicans of Sacramento looked to him for leadership. Senate Republican leader Ken Maddy became known as the ``go-to guy'' for both Governors Deukmejian and Pete Wilson. Senator Maddy combined grace with good looks. He loved people, and he loved life. Few men will ever match the positive impact he had on California politics. He believed in governing and the role of compromise in legislative politics. Smart, dedicated, trustworthy, Ken Maddy simply reflected the very best that California has to offer public affairs. His special passion for horses and racing went back to his teenage years as a groom at Hollywood Park. Among many highlights of his legislative career, which ranged from efforts to strengthen our criminal justice system, to impacting ethics standards for State legislators, to preserving private property rights, are the real highlights, the California Center for Equine Health and Performance and the Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory at the University of California at Davis. Senator Maddy's private pride and joy was a horse named Work the Crowd. The California-bred champion filly now grazes in green pastures in the valley. Raising a brood of California champions, Work the Crowd probably wonders where her Ken has gone. Senator Ken Maddy was a proud graduate of Fresno State and served as a member of the President's Club and the Bulldog Club. In 1999, the Kenneth L. Maddy Institute of Public Policy was dedicated at CSU-Fresno as a vital training ground for the next generation of Valley political leaders. He graduated from UCLA Law School in 1963, and in 1998 he was recognized as one of UCLA's outstanding graduates. Ken Maddy, one of the most respected legislators to ever grace California's capital. On February 18, 2000, this prince of a leader, who dreamed of the sport of kings, passed on to be remembered forever by those who care about politics, the profession he loved.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, for a number of years now, my colleague, Mr. Calvert, and I have worked closely with the Army Corps of Engineers on one of the largest flood-control projects now under way in our nation. The Santa Ana River Mainstem flood control system, which is well on its way to completion, will protect millions of southern California residents and save billions of dollars in property from potentially devastating floods. We would like today to pay tribute to the man who oversaw this project: Mr. Robert A. Joe, the Deputy District Engineer for Programs and Project Management of the corps' Los Angeles District. The Los Angeles District is one of the largest Corps of Engineers districts in the contiguous 48 states, covering 226,000 square miles in southern California, southern Nevada, and all of Arizona. They operate in the second largest urban area in the United States, as well as the booming growth areas of Phoenix and Las Vegas. Activities directed by Bob Joe have ranged from the deepening of Los Angeles Harbor--one of the largest in the world--to massive flood control projects protecting millions of people throughout southern California, to the environmental restoration of the Rio Salado through Tempe and Phoenix. Bob Joe has directed this $300 million annual operation since August 1998--the highlight of a nearly 30-year career with the Los Angeles district that also saw him lead the planning division for 11 years. Throughout this time, southern California has benefited from the corps work in preventing flood damage, improving our harbors, and protecting our valuable coastal property. Mr. Calvert and I recently attended the dedication of perhaps the most important corps project in our Inland Empire--the Seven Oaks Dam in the San Bernardino Mountains. Completion of this dam--on time and on budget--will save thousands of homeowners along the Santa Ana River thousands of dollars a year in flood insurance. We believe it is an accomplishment that will bring pride to the entire corps. Mr. Joe has also been of indispensable help in accomplishing stabilization of the Norco Bluffs and beginning a flood control project along San Timoteo Creek--projects of immense importance to our constituents. Mr. Speaker, we recently learned that Bob Joe will soon retire from the corps. We ask you and all of our colleagues to join us and expressing our gratitude for his years of tremendous service to southern California and the Southwest, and wishing him well in his future professional endeavors.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I would like today to call your attention to an exhibition that has recently opened at the National Museum of Health and Medicine: ``Linus Pauling and the Twentieth Century.'' This exhibition, which was viewed by more than 20,000 school children at the California Institute of Technology, was brought to Washington largely through the efforts of our late friend and colleague, George E. Brown, Jr. Congressman Brown, as we all know, held a passionate belief that there is a special relationship between excellence in education, pushing back the frontiers of scientific knowledge, and the pursuit of peace. These themes are celebrated by the exhibition on the life, work and times of Linus Pauling. Dr. Pauling is the only person ever to win two unshared Nobel prizes. In 1954 he was given the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of the nature of the chemical bond, and in 1962 he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons. Congressman Brown believed that Pauling's commitment to science and to an unwavering idealism make the exhibition on his life especially instructive to today's young people. Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in honoring Congressman Brown for his efforts to bring this exhibition to the Nation's Capital, and to express our appreciation to the organizing committee for making the exhibit possible: Oregon State University, the Linus Pauling family, and the Soka Gakkai International and its founder, Daisaku Ikeda, whose friendship with Pauling inspired the exhibit.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I would like today to pay tribute to Jenny Mummert, a hardworking, highly valued staff member of the Defense Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, who is leaving November 19th after eight years to pursue her career in the private sector. Whether she was putting in long days and endless hours working on behalf of our national defense--or struggling to look serious at the Paris Air Show--Jenny Mummert couldn't help being her ever-positive self. She has always been a vital member of the team, doing all she can to make the defense appropriations subcommittee the best committee in the House of Representatives. Now she has decided to leave us to seek new challenges and opportunities. But she will always be a part of our family. We know that her husband, Joe, and their four children, Joey, Kandyce, Kevin and Karley, are excited about her new career. But they are very likely just as excited about the prospect of mom having a more normal work schedule. Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in wishing all the best for Jenny in her new endeavor, and to let her know that we will miss her every day and will always be grateful for what she's done for the Congress and our national defense.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor and privilege to be cochair of the California delegation. I share that responsibility with the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr). Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr) for remarks.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, Joe, you should note with interest that a very sizable number of the Members on the floor happen to be from the California delegation. It was not always the case that we would have an occasion like this and we would have almost the entire delegation present. But in recent years, we have had kind of a reawakening of our State. In the past, we have often been laughed at by States like Texas who come together regularly on issues relative to their own interests. Today, California is working together as it never has in its history, and our numbers are here to have a positive impact on the country. So working with you in the seat of the former Dean of the California delegation, you have a great career ahead of you. We look forward to your help as we go about attempting to improve the country as we work on behalf of California's interest. So welcome, Joe. It is a great day for all of us.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the creation of Death Valley National Park, which protects and provides public access to some of the most dramatic scenery in the United States in a pristine desert environment that is unmatched in the world. Death Valley became the largest national park in the lower 48 states when it was changed from national monument status and expanded to 3.3 million acres in 1994. More than 1.3 million people travel to the park now, and the historic Furnace Creek Inn remains open year-round--even through 130-degree summer days. This spectacular park includes the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere--Badwater, at 282 feet below sea level--and mountain peaks over 11,000 feet tall. Much of the park is breathtakingly desolate wilderness, but visitors can also relive the time of the Gold Rush through ghost towns and the internationally famous Scotty's Castle. In the past five years, the park staff has grown to include an archeologist, a botanist and hydrologist to research and protect the unique natural resources. The staff has successfully begun a multi-year effort to capture and remove the more than 500 burros who were introduced by miners, and who compete for scarce food and water with native wildlife like the Desert Bighorn Sheep. Non-native vegetation is also being removed. The staff has also restored and improved historical resources like Scotty's Castle, and installed 60 new wayside interpretive exhibits, with plans for 50 more. The park service has made efforts to ensure compensation and flexibility for private owners who property was included in the park, although some problems remain. We must urge the park service to make resolution of those inholder problems a top priority in the years to come. Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in congratulating Park Superintendent Dick Martin and his staff for creating a world- class national park in this unique natural environment. Their efforts have ensured that the treasures of the desert can be viewed by many more visitors--and protected for all those who will come in the future.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton), a member of the Committee on Science.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield to the gentleman from Long Beach, California (Mr. Horn).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield in turn to our colleague from California (Mr. Rohrabacher) who served several years with George Brown on the Committee on Science.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers), a member of the Committee on Science.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Bono), George Brown's colleague in concern about the Salton Sea and many other things.

Mr. LEWIS of California. I appreciate my colleague yielding. It is my privilege to yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate any colleague yielding. Let me say that I intend to make the bulk of my remarks at the end of this session. But let us begin by indicating to the body that oft times, especially with the advent of C-SPAN, the public very often sees only the confrontation between the two sides of the aisle, debate swirling around very important issues that sometimes takes us to the extreme of expression and confrontations that is the presumed norm. I must say that, over the years, I have had great pleasure in the fact that George Brown and I found working together that we had so much more in common than our people who watch us on the football team of politics in our home district territory would ever realize. For the Members' information, our commonality for me began when as a young person just out of college entering the life insurance business, I settled in a small town outside of Los Angeles for a couple of years to be close to the big city. The local assemblyman at that point in time was one George Brown, and that is when I first heard of this legislator and friend to be. Not too long after that, George sought his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and served there for a distinguished period of time that was a part of his distinguished career. He then sought a seat, or at least the nomination, in the U.S. Senate and left the Congress for a while. In the meantime, I had returned home to San Bernardino County. It was years after that initial contact in Monterey Park that I got to know George as a candidate for the Congress in our territory near his former home in Colton, California. He served in the Congress for a period of time before I arrived here. But over the years, we developed a very, very close personal relationship. Most importantly, we developed a professional relationship, as well. And as his wife Marta that is in the chambers with us in person but in spirit in many more ways, along with her family, it is my privilege to share with my colleagues the thoughts of some of the Members on this side of the aisle as we distribute time to them and we very much look forward to hearing a great deal about this wonderful character who was a wonderful diplomat as well as ambassador here in the House of Representatives. General Leave

Mr. LEWIS of California. If he yields half of it to me, then can I distribute it?

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague yielding. Mr. Speaker, I am wondering, let me ask my colleague a question if I can by way of procedure. I know there are Members on both sides who are asking for time, etcetera, and I have made a list and so on. Should we kind of divide this time in a way that I can distribute time and ask the Chair for unanimous consent for that?

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for yielding by way of closing this wonderful time we have had together in tribute to our colleague, George Brown. I mentioned at the beginning of my remarks earlier that George and I, although we had our differences politically from time to time, had so much more in common. The fact that we often talked about being born on the wrong side of the tracks, he in Imperial County, and I was raised in San Bernardino. But shortly after in his youth, he was in Colton, considered by us, like my home, on the wrong side of the tracks. He and I shared our love and our pride as being alumni of the wonderful university in West Los Angeles, UCLA. George also had this great passion for science but particularly for NASA. When I had the chance to work with NASA's programming in the VA- HUD subcommittee, George and I professionally spent a lot of time together and many times in the battle here on the floor to save the Space Station and the future work of NASA. Beyond that, we had a great love for water. I remember George talking about riding in an innertube down the Alamo River where he had his first experience with the Salton Sea and his commitment to that project as a part of his youth but also as a part of his very intense and life- long love for the environment. George kind of closed his days and my memory of him when Arlene and I went and visited Marta and George at their new home in San Bernardino where they had been there for a while but they built this huge, huge fish pond, the largest fish pond I have ever seen in my life and the first time, and I told friends of this, the first time I ever heard George even raise a doubt about his commitment for the environment. Because suddenly, and he spent a lot of money for these fish, etc., and they were planning to have tea out there and watch the fish grow; and the birds from the outside began flying in in their natural way, and stealing his fish. George was a brilliant, wonderful, talented guy and a reflection of the best of America's House, the people's House, the House of Representatives. I appreciate all of my colleagues joining with us tonight and sharing this evening with Marta and her family.