Barbara Lee

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, while I understand that the Chairwoman is prepared to accept it, this amendment causes me great concern. Given Mr. King's history in opposition to the underlying provision, I believe that this amendment is nothing more than a backdoor attempt to leaving U.S. troops in Iraq long-term. The bottom line is, Mr. Chairman, when our troops come home, they should all come home. And three times, twice in 2006 and once this year Congress passed-- and the President signed into law--legislation prohibiting permanent military bases in Iraq. The prospect of having long-term military bases would send the wrong message to our troops, the Iraqi people, and the world. The prospect of an indefinite occupation fuels the insurgency by serving as a recruiting tool for insurgents and places targets on the backs of our troops. The Iraq Study Group has recognized the importance of unequivocally declaring that we have no intention of remaining in Iraq permanently. Key administration officials, including Secretary Gates have pronounced that we are not going to establish permanent military bases in Iraq. Even President Bush has declared that we `do not support an indefinite occupation' in Iraq. Again, Mr. Chairman, I wish this were a genuine attempt to prohibit an indefinite occupation in Iraq. I'm concerned that it is not. prohibition on use of torture Sec. 686. None of the funds made available in this Act shall be used in any way whatsoever to support or justify the use of torture by any official or contract employee of the United States Government. report on indonesian cooperation Sec. 687. Funds available under the heading ``INTERNATIONAL MILITARY EDUCATION AND TRAINING'' may only be made available for assistance for Indonesia if the Secretary of State submits a report to the Committees on Appropriations that describes-- (1) Steps taken by the Indonesian government to deny promotion to and to remove from service military officers indicted for serious crimes; the extent to which the Indonesian Government is cooperating with international efforts to bring current and past officials to justice; and that past and present Indonesian military officials are cooperating with domestic inquiries into past abuses, including the forced disappearance and killing of student activists in 1998 and 1999; (2) The Indonesian government's response to the report of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in Timor-Leste and the June 2006 report of the report to the Secretary-General of the Commission of Experts to Review the Prosecution of Serious Violations of Human Rights in Timor- Leste in 1999; (3) Steps taken by the Indonesian government to implement and enforce the 2004 Indonesian law which requires the Indonesian military to divest itself of legal and illegal businesses before 2009; and (4) The extent to which the Indonesian government has removed restrictions impending access to and travel within the provinces of Papua and West Irian Jaya by United Nations personnel, diplomats, journalists, international non- governmental organization personnel and researchers, humanitarian and human rights workers and others. limitation on assistance to foreign countries that refuse to extradite to the united states any individual accused in the united states of killing a law enforcement officer Sec. 688. None of the funds made available in this Act for the Department of State may be used to provide assistance to the central government of a country which has notified the Department of State of its refusal to extradite to the United States any individual indicted in the United States for killing a law enforcement officer, as specified in a United States extradition request. governments that have failed to permit certain extraditions Sec. 689. None of the funds made available in this Act for the Department of State, other than funds provided under the heading ``INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL AND LAW ENFORCEMENT'', may be used to provide assistance to the central government of a country with which the United States has an extradition treaty and which government has notified the Department of State of its refusal to extradite to the United States any individual charged with a criminal offense for which the maximum penalty is life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. international monetary fund budget and hiring ceilings Sec. 690. The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund to use the voice of the United States to ensure that any loan, project, agreement, memorandum, instrument, plan or other program of the International Monetary Fund does not penalize countries for increased government spending on healthcare or education by exempting such increases from national budget caps or restraints, hiring or wage bill ceilings or other limits imposed by the International Monetary Fund. environment programs Sec. 691. (a) Funding.--Of the funds appropriated under the heading ``DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE'', not less than $501,000,000 shall be made available for programs and activities which directly protect biodiversity and promote clean energy. (b) Climate Change Report.--Not later than 60 days after the date on which the President's fiscal year 2009 budget request is submitted to Congress, the President shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations describing in detail the following-- (1) all Federal agency obligations and expenditures, domestic and international, for climate change programs and activities in fiscal year 2009, including an accounting of expenditures by agency with each agency identifying climate change activities and associated costs by line item as presented in the President's Budget Appendix; and (2) all fiscal year 2007 obligations and estimated expenditures, fiscal year 2008 estimated expenditures and estimated obligations, and fiscal year 2009 requested funds by the United States Agency for International Development, by country and central program, for each of the following: (A) to promote the transfer and deployment of a wide range of United States clean energy and energy efficiency technologies; (B) to assist in the measurement, monitoring, reporting, verification, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; (C) to promote carbon capture and sequestration measures; (D) to help meet such countries' responsibilities under the Framework Convention on Climate Change; and (E) to develop assessments of the vulnerability to impacts of climate change and mitigation and adaptation response strategies. (c) Extraction of Natural Resources.--(1) The Secretary of the Treasury shall inform the managements of the international financial institutions and the public that it is the policy of the United States that any assistance by such institutions (including but not limited to any loan, credit, grant, or guarantee) for the extraction and export of oil, gas, coal, timber, or other natural resource should not be provided unless the government of the country has in place or is taking the necessary steps to establish functioning systems for: (A) accurately accounting for revenues and expenditures in connection with the extraction and export of the type of natural resource to be extracted or exported; (B) the independent auditing of such accounts and the widespread public dissemination of the audits; and (C) verifying government receipts against company payments including widespread dissemination of such payment information, and disclosing such documents as Host Government Agreements, Concession Agreements, and bidding documents, allowing in any such dissemination or disclosure for the redaction of, or exceptions for, information that is commercially proprietary or that would create competitive disadvantage. (2) Not later than 180 days after the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations describing, for each international financial institution, the amount and type of assistance provided, by country, for the extraction and export of oil, gas, coal, timber, or other national resource since September 30, 2005. uzbekistan Sec. 692. Assistance may be provided to the central Government of Uzbekistan only if the Secretary of State determines and reports to the Committees on Appropriations that the Government of Uzbekistan is making substantial and continuing progress in meeting its commitments under the ``Declaration on the Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Framework Between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United States of America'', including respect for human rights, establishing a genuine multi-party system, and ensuring free and fair elections, freedom of expression, and the independence of the media, and that a credible international investigation of the May 31, 2005, shootings in Andijan is underway with the support of the Government of Uzbekistan: Provided, That for the purposes of this section ``assistance'' shall include excess defense articles. discrimination against minority religious faiths in the russian federation Sec. 693. None of the funds appropriated for assistance under this Act may be made available for the Government of the Russian Federation, after 180 days from the date of the enactment of this Act, unless the President determines and certifies in writing to the Committees on Appropriations that the Government of the Russian Federation has implemented no statute, executive order, regulation or similar government action that would discriminate, or which has as its principal effect discrimination, against religious groups or religious communities in the Russian Federation in violation of accepted international agreements on human rights and religious freedoms to which the Russian Federation is a party. war crimes in africa Sec. 694. (a) The Congress reaffirms its support for the efforts of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) to bring to justice individuals responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in a timely manner. (b) Funds appropriated by this Act, including funds for debt restructuring, may be made available for assistance to the central government of a country in which individuals indicted by ICTR and SCSL are credibly alleged to be living, if the Secretary of State determines and reports to the Committees on Appropriations that such government is cooperating with ICTR and SCSL, including the surrender and transfer of indictees in a timely manner: Provided, That this subsection shall not apply to assistance provided under section 551 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 or to project assistance under title II of this Act: Provided further, That the United States shall use its voice and vote in the United Nations Security Council to fully support efforts by ICTR and SCSL to bring to justice individuals indicted by such tribunals in a timely manner. (c) The prohibition in subsection (b) may be waived on a country by country basis if the President determines that doing so is in the national security interest of the United States: Provided, That prior to exercising such waiver authority, the President shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations, in classified form if necessary, on: (1) the steps being taken to obtain the cooperation of the government in surrendering the indictee in question to the court of jurisdiction; (2) a strategy, including a timeline, for bringing the indictee before such court; and (3) the justification for exercising the waiver authority. combatting piracy of united states copyrighted materials Sec. 695. (a) Program Authorized.--The Secretary of State may carry out a program of activities to combat piracy in countries that are not members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), including activities as follows: (1) The provision of equipment and training for law enforcement, including in the interpretation of intellectual property laws. (2) The provision of training for judges and prosecutors, including in the interpretation of intellectual property laws. (3) The provision of assistance in complying with obligations under applicable international treaties and agreements on copyright and intellectual property. (b) Consultation With World Intellectual Property Organization.--In carrying out the program authorized by subsection (a), the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, consult with and provide assistance to the World Intellectual Property Organization in order to promote the integration of countries described in subsection (a) into the global intellectual property system. (c) Funding.--Of the amount appropriated or otherwise made available under the heading ``INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL AND LAW ENFORCEMENT'', $5,000,000 may be made available in fiscal year 2008 for the program authorized by subsection (a). oversight of iraq reconstruction Sec. 696. (a) Section 3001 of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense and for the Reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, 2004 (Public Law 108-106; 117 Stat. 1238; 5 U.S.C. App., note to section 8G of Public Law 95- 452), as amended by section 1054(b) of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 (Public Law 109-364; 120 Stat. 2397), section 2 of the Iraq Reconstruction Accountability Act of 2006 (Public Law 109- 440), and section 3801 of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007 (Public Law 110-28) is amended-- (1) in subsection (h)(1) by striking ``pay rates.'' and inserting ``pay rates, and may exercise the authorities of subsections (b) through (i) of section 3161 of title 5, United States Code (without regard to subsection (a) of such section).''; (2) in subsection (o)(1)(B) by striking ``fiscal year 2006 or fiscal year 2007'' and inserting ``fiscal years 2006 through 2008''; and (3) by adding at the end of such section the following subsection: ``(p) Rule of Construction.--For the purposes of carrying out the duties of the Inspector General, any United States funds appropriated or otherwise made available for fiscal years 2006 through 2008 for the reconstruction of Iraq, irrespective of the designation of such funds, shall be deemed to be amounts appropriated or otherwise made available to the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund.''. (b) Section 1054(a) of Public Law 109-364 is amended by striking ``fiscal year 2006'' and inserting ``fiscal years 2006 through 2008''. united nations headquarters renovation Sec. 697. It is the sense of the Congress that the amount of any loan for the renovation of the United Nations headquarters building located in New York, New York, should not exceed $600,000,000: Provided, That if any loan exceeds $600,000,000, the Secretary of State shall notify the Congress of the current cost of the renovation and cost containment measures. neglected diseases Sec. 698. Of the funds appropriated under the heading ``Child Survival and Health Programs Fund'', not less than $18,000,000 shall be made available to support an integrated response to the control of neglected diseases including intestinal parasites, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, trachoma and leprosy: Provided, That the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development shall consult with the Committees on Appropriations, representatives from the relevant international technical and nongovernmental organizations addressing the specific diseases, recipient countries, donor countries, the private sector, UNICEF and the World Health Organization: (1) on the most effective uses of such funds to demonstrate the health and economic benefits of such an approach; and (2) to develop a multilateral, integrated initiative to control these diseases that will enhance coordination and effectiveness and maximize the leverage of United States contributions with those of other donors: Provided further, That funds made available pursuant to this section shall be subject to the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations. assistance for egypt Sec. 699. (a) Foreign Military Financing Program.--Of the funds appropriated by this Act for Egypt under the heading ``FOREIGN MILITARY FINANCING PROGRAM'', $200,000,000 shall not be made available for obligation until the Secretary of State certifies and reports to the Committees on Appropriations that the Government of Egypt has taken concrete and measurable steps to-- (1) enact and implement a new judicial authority law that protects the independence of the judiciary; (2) review criminal procedures and train police leadership in modern policing to curb police abuses; and (3) detect and destroy the smuggling network and smuggling tunnels that lead from Egypt to Gaza. Amendment Offered by Mr. Boustany

Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the McGovern-Lewis amendment. This important amendment will prohibit funding to the infamous Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) formerly known as the School of the Americas. We all know the history of this Institute that has long been associated with human rights abuses and many of its students have been tied to death squads and international coups. Despite assurances to the contrary by supporters of the WHINSEC, the continuing legacy of blood and terror by these graduates calls into question how these candidates are recruited and vetted. Mr. Chairman, at a time when our occupation of Iraq has greatly damaged our credibility and standing in the world, the last thing we need to be doing is funding an organization like WHINSEC that is drenched in a legacy of secrecy, terror, and violence. I urge my colleagues to support the McGovern-Lewis amendment.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Let me thank our chairwoman for yielding and for her leadership, and just say, as one of the authors of the PEPFAR legislation, I actually helped write the majority of this legislation. I can tell you that while I did not agree nor support the 33 percent earmark, I know for a fact that this does not undo that earmark. Let me just tell you a couple of things. You probably have heard, and you know that over the next 10 years, more than 100 million girls in developing countries will be married before their 18th birthday, and often against their will. As currently written, the bill does not change the underlying abstinence-until-marriage earmark. For me that's unfortunate, but it doesn't change that. And it does not require the President to make any changes to current prevention funds. The current language merely provides the President with the flexibility to plan the most appropriate and sensitive and required program for countries per their request. The fact is, the administration has already waived, you're right, application of the abstinence earmark for certain countries receiving assistance under our global AIDS programs. But I want you to remember, ABC does mean abstinence, be faithful, use condoms. For many of these young girls, abstinence is not an option. And we must provide them with what they need to protect themselves. ABC is ABC. The Lowey language provides a very practical, commonsense, 1-year fix, mind you, 1 year. And it gives the President the authority to program global AIDS funding according to local country needs. Ultimately, it will be up to the President to determine whether to exercise this flexibility. This amendment, Mr. Pitts, it really does render a death sentence to millions of girls and their children and their babies. So I urge my colleagues to vote against restricting the ability of the President to save lives. And that's what this amendment would do. And so I hope that all of the posturing and all of the ideological debate today really comes down to the fact that we believe, all of us believe in ABC: Abstinence, be faithful, use condoms. And as I said, I helped write this bill. And I was much opposed to this earmark, but, believe me, I know that this does not remove it. And so I urge my colleagues to oppose the Pitts amendment.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the House is considering today, my resolution H. Con. Res. 148, recognizing the significance of Caribbean-American Heritage month. This resolution acknowledges the contributions of Caribbean-Americans from the inception of our country to the present and it is my hope that my colleagues in the House and the Senate will join me in celebrating this strong, rich history. Alexander Hamilton, Hazel Scott, Sidney Poitier, Jean Michel Basquiat, Eric Holder, Colin Powell, Edwidge Danticat, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, Sidney Ponson, Maryse Conde, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Roberto Clemente, Celia Cruz, and former Congressman Mervyn Dymally, are just a few of the many Caribbean-Americans who helped shape American government, politics, business, arts, education, science, and culture, and are joined by modern day figures like Alicia Keys, Lenny Kravitz, Bobby Cannavale, Cameron Diaz, Wyclef Jean, Elizabeth Vargas, Esmeralda Santiago, and Miguel Pinero. One outstanding Caribbean-American was former Congresswoman Shirley Anita Chisholm. My political career began as a volunteer in her historic Presidential campaign in 1972. Chisholm was the first African- American woman to serve in Congress, the first African-American and the first woman to campaign on a major party ticket, an advocate for civil rights and equal rights, and a daughter of the Caribbean. Her tenacity and principled nature are inspirations to us all. While we've been fortunate to have Caribbean Americans serve in Congress, it's important for us to realize that Caribbean Americans reside throughout our Nation. Oftentimes, Congress will focus on ``hot spots'' in the Caribbean-- such as Cuba and Haiti, and forget that we have many constituents with roots from Jamaica to Trinidad and Tobago and from the Dominican Republic to Guyana. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee's subcommittee on Foreign Operations and the bi-partisan Caribbean Caucus, I believe it is of vital importance to monitor and shape policies to improve relations with our Caribbean neighbors throughout the region. I'd like to thank my colleagues who brought this legislation forward, particularly Congressman John Tierney, and his staff Kevin McDermott, who helped move the resolution through the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. On that note, I'd also like to thank Chairman Henry Waxman and the rest of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee for expeditious consideration of this resolution. I'd like to close by mentioning that this resolution could not have come to the floor of this House at a better time, as members of the Caribbean Community, or CARICOM, are gathering here in Washington, DC, for their conference, which will run through the rest of the week. Heads of State and other leaders of the many nations that are part of CARICOM, representing the nations of Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as nations that are Associate Members and Observers of CARICOM. It is my hope that this conference will not only allow these nations to help move the Caribbean as a whole, forward, but also provide the opportunity for us to meet with and discuss issues important to growing the relationship between the U.S. and the nations along our Third Border. I ask all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting this measure to honor the Caribbean-American community.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. I thank the gentlelady for yielding. But also let me just commend you, Chairman Lowey, for your brilliance, your leadership and your hard work in crafting this very good bipartisan bill. It is an honor to serve with you and our ranking member (Mr. Wolf) on the committee because I see how you two work together to make this a bill that we can all support. Let me just highlight three provisions of this bill. First, I'm pleased that it includes $949 million for humanitarian assistance in the Sudan. Of this, $210 million is specifically designed to help the victims of the genocide in Darfur. Having traveled there three times, I have seen the plight of the Darfurian people firsthand. This bill will help the United Nations and the African Union to bring food, clean water, security, and other basic humanitarian assistance. It also urges our good friend and ally, Egypt, to do more to help the genocide. Secondly, I am pleased that this bill includes nearly $5.1 billion to fight the global AIDS pandemic, including $550 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. In 25 years, HIV and AIDS has infected nearly 70 million people throughout the world and has killed more than 25 million. We have made significant steps in the last few years, and this increase reaffirms our commitment to stop the spread of this dreadful disease. As the bill moves ahead, however, I hope we can go even further. As the New York Times pointed out in a recent editorial on Monday, we must try to provide $1.3 billion to the global fund this year and help put the world on course to universal access to AIDS treatment by 2010. Mr. Chairman, I would like to insert the New York Times editorial into the Record. [From the New York Times, June 18, 2007] Two Cheers on Global AIDS Now that the Group of 8 industrialized nations has pledged to commit $60 billion to combat AIDS and other diseases around the world in coming years--a substantial sum by any reckoning--Congress and other national legislatures ought to look hard for additional funds to close a looming gap between the funds committed and the needs of desperate patients. The advanced nations--both the G-8 countries and other donor nations--have greatly increased their funding for AIDS programs in recent years in belated recognition that the epidemic threatens to destroy not just its victims, but also the social and economic fabric of many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. We are pleased that President Bush has proposed spending some $30 billion to combat AIDS abroad over a five-year period, from 2009 to 2013, but in truth that represents only a modest increase from the spending trajectory we were already on. At its recent summit meeting, the Group of 8 pledged to commit $60 billion to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria ``over the coming years,'' including the American contribution. Yet even these pledges will not be enough to keep up with the devastating epidemics. Tens of billions of dollars more will be needed to provide treatment, care and preventive services for AIDS alone over the next five years. Although the Group of 8 pledges are welcome, they actually represent a retreat from previous goals. In 2005, at its meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland, the group pledged to provide ``as close as possible to universal access to treatment'' for all people suffering from AIDS by 2010. That should mean at least 10 million people in treatment by then, judging from estimates by United Nations AIDS experts. Yet at the recent meeting, the G-8 said it was aiming to treat only some five million patients in Africa by an unspecified date. That sounds like consigning millions of untreated people to death and disability. To its credit, the United States has been by far the largest AIDS donor in recent years, providing almost half of the funding commitments made by donor governments. But when measured against the size of the national economy, the American donations rank only fifth. There is room to do more. As Congress wrestles with the fiscal 2008 appropriations bills this year, it ought to provide the full $1.3 billion being sought by Congressional health advocates as the American contribution to a global fund to combat the three diseases--not just $300 mlilion as proposed by the administration or the $850 million approved by the House Appropriations Committee. Congress should also set the nation--and by its example, the world--on course toward universal access to AIDS treatment by 2010. This bill, Mr. Chairman, also takes steps to recognize the importance of our Caribbean neighbors by urging the State Department to promote professional and scholastic exchanges within the region. This is a significant way to welcome the heads of the Caribbean countries, CARICOM, as they convene in Washington, D.C. this week to consider our common future as neighbors. This is a region which has been, for the most part, neglected and ignored. In closing, Mr. Chairman, let me just say that this bill provides the correct path to global peace and security, and does take care of and address the least of these. However, I only wish the amount in this bill was more than just the 1 percent of the Federal budget, which is what this is. This is a $34 billion bill, but I wish, Mr. Chairman, that it was $340 billion.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, forty years ago, the U.S. was number one in the world in high school graduation rates. Today it ranks 17th. About 1/3 of the students who enter 9th grade each fall will not graduate from high school with four years, if at all. High school students living in low-income families drop out of school at six times the rate of their peers from high-income families. Drop out rates are especially high in communities of color: Only about 55 percent of African American students and 52 percent of Hispanic students graduate on time from high school with a regular diploma, compared to 78 percent of white students. In my district, in Oakland, the graduation rates for African American males is 26 percent, compared to 57 percent is the graduation rate for white males. In this country, there are about 2,000 high schools that produce the majority of dropouts. Six million students throughout America are currently at risk of dropping out of school. Students who fail to graduate from high school are more likely to participate in criminal activity than students who do graduate. Likewise, students with low levels of achievement in high school are more likely to engage in crime than students with high levels of achievement. For example, The Harvard University Civil Rights Project and the Urban Institute Education Policy Center conducted a study on K-12 schools in California. The Center estimated that Oakland's 52 percent dropout rate costs the state $14 billion in lost wages, crime and jail time. Investing in education would save millions of dollars in crime related expenditures annually. The statistics are staggering and tell the story. Approximately 75 percent of state prison inmates did not complete high school. High school dropouts are 3.5 times more likely than high school graduates to be arrested in their lifetimes. And a mere one percent increase in high school graduation rates would save approximately $1.4 billion in costs associated with incarceration costs, or about $2,100 for each male high school graduate. We must do better by our children. Nothing less than the future of this country is at stake. That is why I am committed to effective reform that can transform high schools and keep students at the greatest risk of dropping out on the path to graduation. I'm proud to support authorizing legislation that will soon be introduced which will help address some of the reforms that are needed and that is why I'm proud to be an advocate on the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education subcommittee working to appropriate funding to address the crisis in dropouts that our country is facing. Clearly, we need increased investments in programs that keep kids in school and learning. school counseling bill On the Labor, Health and Human Services subcommittee, I worked with my colleagues to include $61.5 million for elementary and secondary school counseling in the FY08 bill that is currently working its way through our committee. This is a 77.5 percent increase in a program that the President would have eliminated. These funds enable school districts to hire academic counselors, psychologists, and social workers. The additional resources will be targeted to improving and expanding academic and mental health counseling to middle and high school adolescents. This significant increase is a tremendous step toward addressing the crisis in counseling in our schools. after school programs Another critical tool we have in our arsenal to fight drop out and to keep kids off the street and for preventing youth violence is our nation's after school programs. The fact of the matter is that between 3-6 pm the rate of juvenile crime triples. On LHHS subcommittee, we were able to provide a $125 million increase over FY07 levels for a total of over a billion dollars for the 21st century community learning centers. This program is a formula grant to states which in turn distribute 95 percent of the funds on a competitive basis to local school districts, community based organizations and other organizations is for after school activities that make sure that young people have alternatives to getting into trouble. upward bound / trio and gear up I want to echo the comments of my colleagues here tonight about the problems we are fighting as it relates to the Absolute Priority regulation and the concerns over the loss of funding for numerous previously funded grantees including 30 percent of our HBCU's and Mills College in my district. I know that working together we will resolve these critical issues and I want to specifically thank Bobby Scott and Gwen Moore for their leadership on the Education Committee and on this issue. We all understand just how critical these programs are that provide a variety of outreach and support services to encourage low-income students to enter an complete college. That is why I'm pleased our L- HHS subcommittee was able to provide a $40 million increase in funding for the TRIO programs and a $20 million increase for the GEAR UP program.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, let me thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of this Homeland Security appropriations bill. For too long, this Congress has failed to fund our critical homeland security priorities. I am pleased, however, that this bill today takes significant steps towards addressing these issues. As a Member who represents the Port of Oakland, I want to just mention port security, which has been long neglected by the Bush administration. In this bill, we make an important commitment to provide at the authorized level $400 million in port security grants, which is $190 million over the President's request. To protect critical transit infrastructure, this bill provides $400 million in grants, which is $225 million over the President's request. On the issue of ensuring that first responders are able to communicate between themselves, this bill provides $50 million for essential interoperable communications. Mr. Chairman, this Congress is making good on its promise to provide a clear and new and realistic direction on homeland security. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from Tennessee for yielding, for his leadership and support to end the genocide in Darfur, and also let me just thank our chairman, Congressman Lantos; our ranking member, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of the Foreign Affairs Committee; and Chairman Payne and the ranking member of the Africa subcommittee, Mr. Smith, for their leadership on the issue of Darfur and for working together to make sure that all of our efforts here continue to be bipartisan. We have over 128 cosponsors of this resolution today. Again, thank you to Congressman Jerry Moran of Kansas and also Congressman Jim McGovern of Massachusetts and to all of our staff. This is a mission that we are all on. Many of us have visited on several occasions, and each time we visit Darfur we come back recommitted and rededicated to do what we can each and every day to end this horrific genocide. Thirteen years ago, the world stood by as nearly 1 million people, 1 million people, were slaughtered in the genocide in Rwanda. The best our country could do then, unfortunately, was to apologize for our failure to act, and that was after the fact. Many of us swore that another Rwanda would never happen again on our watch. But today, Mr. Speaker, it is happening again. Nearly 3 years ago, under the bold leadership of our good friend, Chairman Donald Payne, on July 22, 2004, Congress formally declared that genocide was taking place in Darfur. Estimates indicate that nearly 450,000 people have been killed, and 2.5 million innocent civilians have been displaced to date. I witnessed this ongoing tragedy for the first time in 2005 when I visited the refugee camps in Chad and Darfur with two great humanitarian leaders, Don Cheadle and Paul Rusesabagina, this delegation led, again bipartisan, by Chairman Ed Royce. In February, 2006, under the leadership of our great Speaker, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, I had the opportunity once again to visit the refugee camps in another region of Darfur. This again was a bipartisan delegation. And just this past April, along with my colleague Congresswoman Ileana Ros- Lehtinen, we visited another region in Darfur as part of this visit organized by our majority leader, Steny Hoyer. As Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen has said, what we saw in Darfur, of course, is continuing to deteriorate. More and more people are dying, and even humanitarian aid workers are at risk. The day before our delegation arrived, five soldiers from Senegal were killed in Darfur, African Union soldiers there to protect innocent civilians. Unfortunately, for many Darfurians the situation remains grim. Last week, many of us expressed our support for the President's announcement of additional sanctions on businesses controlled by the government of Sudan and on individuals in the Sudanese government. Today, we take another step forward by calling on the Chinese to use their unique influence with Sudan to end the genocide. Mr. Speaker, there is no way to sugarcoat this. China is the principal trading partner of a genocidal regime that has thumbed its nose at the international community. China reportedly purchases as much as 70 percent of Sudan's oil and has cancelled over $100 million in debt and has provided $20 million in funding to build a palace for General Bashir. China unquestionably has the unique ability to influence Khartoum in a positive manner, but they cannot do so by simply following a policy of appeasement. They must put real pressure on General Bashir to comply with all U.N. resolutions and fully, unconditionally accept the U.N.-AU peacekeeping mission. And they must urge Sudan to pursue a renewed peace process with all parties, and they must insist that humanitarian organizations have unfettered access to the 2.5 million people who have been displaced. Most importantly, they should deny Bashir the tools to continue perpetrating the genocide by cutting off, and I mean cutting off, all military arms sales and suspending economic opportunities and cooperation with the government of Sudan. The economic costs to China for taking these steps today is minimal compared to the benefit they would achieve if they would provide to the people of Darfur an end to the genocide and the international acclaim that China could win by helping to end the genocide. I urge our Chinese friends not to view this resolution as a condemnation but to view it as an opportunity to take action to end an urgent moral and humanitarian crisis. So we are urging the Chinese government to act, and our own steps must increase to stop this horrific and unbelievable tragedy occurring on our watch. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all of the Members here who are speaking in support of this resolution.

Ms. LEE. Let me thank the gentleman once again for yielding and would like to thank so many of our young people from around the country who have been nonstop in their work to end the genocide. Also, I would like to thank and recognize and salute the faith community, because this has been a movement to save Darfur by young people in the faith community. I would just like to mention a few of the organizations that have been unbelievable and unrelenting in their commitment. The Save Darfur Coalition, and my colleague from California referred to our arm bands, Not on Our Watch, Save Darfur. The Sudan Divestment Task Force. The American Jewish World Service. STAND, which is the Student Anti- Genocide Coalition. Dream for Darfur. Genocide Intervention Network. ENOUGH: The Project to End Genocide and Mass Atrocities. These are examples of the type of organizations at the grassroots level that have been working day and night to help us here in the House of Representatives understand our focus and what we need to do as a country to join hands to end this horrible massacre that is taking place. I just want to once again thank Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Chairman Lantos, Mr. Tanner from Tennessee and especially once again Congressman Don Payne for beating the drum, oftentime being a lone voice in the wilderness, but making sure that the rest of the world knew that it is incumbent upon the United States Government to lead to end this genocide and to say again to our country, to the world, not on our watch will this take place. And today we are taking one more step closer to bringing the world together to ask China to join with us, as Congressman George Miller said, to stop underwriting this genocide that is taking place and to come together now with people and countries of good conscience who stand together to say to General Bashir and the Sudanese government to stop this carnage, to allow the people of Darfur to return home to their villages. They want to go home. They want to go live their lives and raise their children. We want the international forces, the U.N. forces, to go in and to help protect the refugees and to help the AU forces to make sure that people are protected until they can go home. And, of course, finally to find a long-term political solution. A month ago we called upon the League of Arab Nations to do the same thing. And so it's time that the world stand together and say, no more. It's time that we stand together and say to the people of Darfur that hope is coming and that 450,000 people should not have been tolerated, but we don't want to see another single death occur as a result. China has got to help us do this. And so today we are asking the Chinese government in the spirit of cooperation to help stop this genocide that is taking place.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life and career of James J. Kelly, Ph.D., ACSW, LCSW. Dr. Kelly is the Provost and Executive Vice President of Menlo College in Atherton, California. He recenntly retired from the California State University system, having been a professor and Associate Vice President within the Division of Continuing and International Education for California State University, East Bay, CSUEB as well as former Interim Provost. Today Dr. Kelly celebrates his retirement from CSUEB after decades of outstanding service to our educational system, our community and our country. Dr. Kelly's extensive academic and clinical credentials include a post-doctoral clinical fellowship in Psychiatry at UCLA Sepulveda Veterans Administration; a Ph.D. from Brandeis University; an M.S.S.W. from the University of Tennessee; and a B.S. from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Prior to working at CSUEB, Dr. Kelly was a professor and the Dean of Health and Human Services at Cal State Los Angeles, (CSULA), and a professor and the Director of the Department of Social Work at Cal State Long Beach. While at CSULA, he headed a coalition that brought in $96 million to CSULA for a collaborative criminalistics laboratory for use by the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and CSULA. At CSUEB, Dr. Kelly was responsible for eliminating an inherited $3.7 million estimated debt in the Division of Continuing and International Education, and returning the division to profitability. Also among his outstanding accomplishment at CBUEB was Dr. Kelly's work to establish and oversee the East Bay Small Business Development Center in Oakland California, which he initiated with a grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration and in cooperation with San Jose State. Dr. Kelly also established three free-standing training and professional facilities: (1) the CSUEB Oakland Professional Development and Conference Center, (2) the CSULA Center for Child Welfare, and (3) the CSULB Child Welfare Training Center. Both at CSULA and CSUEB, Dr. Kelly was responsible for overseeing significant faculty hiring, and his work was notable for the high level of diversity, including women and minorities, he brought into both institutions. He was also a pioneer in the use of distance technology, having spearheaded distance education programs from Cal State Long Beach to CSU Humboldt, Channel Islands, Bakersfield, and Chico. Dr. Kelly has been active for many years in professional and community organizations, and has received numerous accolades for his work. He is the immediate past President of the California Institute of Mental Health, and founding editorial board member of the Journal of Women and Aging. He is also a former consultant to the United Nations. Dr. Kelly has 38 publications, 109 presentations, and has garnered $40 million in grants, contracts, endowments, and gifts to his credit. In 1987, he was named NASW National Social Worker of the Year. Dr. Kelly's commitment to the students and faculty of the CSU System, as well as the community at large, has had a positive impact on countless lives. On this very special day, I join the friends, family and colleagues of Dr. Jim Kelly in thanking and saluting him for his profound contributions to California's 9th Congressional District, our country and our world.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Oakland Community Organizations (OCO), a faith-based community organizing network in Oakland, California. Today, OCO celebrates 30 years of advocacy and invaluable service to the community. In 1972, OCO was established as an organizing project of Fathers John Baumann, S.J. and Jerry Helfrich S.J., the founders of the Pacific Institute for Community Organization (PICO) network. PICO is a national network with faith-based organizations at work in over 45 cities in 12 states across the United States, pursuing initiatives in areas such as healthcare access, education reform and affordable housing. From 1972-1977, Baumann and Helfrich focused on building neighborhood organizations in West Oakland, San Antonio, Fruitvale, Central East Oakland from 50th to 80th Streets, and Elmhurst area. Neighborhood after neighborhood worked on issues like junkyards, stray dogs, prostitution, zoning, crime and vacant housing. On May 14, 1977 over 1,000 people gathered at Merritt College to officially give birth to OCO, articulating the faith values that today are the foundation of OCO's organizing principles. For the next 8 years, OCO operated successfully as a neighborhood based organization, bringing people together around local and citywide issues. During this period, OCO achieved major victories in areas such as affordable housing, local hiring, and I the rehabilitation of once- vacant houses. In 1985, with the support of PICO, OCO began the transition from a neighborhood-organizing model to a congregation community-based model. Using this method, OCO developed strong local organizations in seven congregations. During the 1980's OCO received national accolades in many areas, but in particular for its groundbreaking work in partnership with the City of Oakland to combat drug use. In the 1990s, OCO leaders turned their attention on the root causes of poverty in Oakland and focused on developing sustainable solutions for complex problems. During that time, OCO organized thousands of people for major citywide action that resulted in the creation of Aviation High School, a pilot school-to-work transition program; the Hope Campaign, which created smaller kindergarten class sizes; and the opening of a grocery store in West Oakland. OCO has continued this proud tradition of advocacy and innovation through the present day. Over the past several years, OCO has again charted new territory in several areas through initiatives such as the Restructuring of two Oakland High Schools, Castlemont High School and Fremont High School, into separate but interconnected schools within their respective schools. Furthermore, OCO continues its extraordinary advocacy work in the areas of healthcare access, immigrants' rights and affordable housing. On May 11, 2007, OCO will celebrate its 30th anniversary in Oakland, California. I would like to mark this occasion by commending the organization for the exceptional service it has provided to the community not only in its capacity as an institution of faith and worship, but also as a leader in working to provide services and advocacy to the people of Oakland. By remaining committed to the areas of leadership and service throughout its 30 years of community organizing and action, OCO has contributed enormously not only to the Oakland community, but also to our State, our country and our world.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life and career of Ed Lewis. Today Ed is being honored by the Greater New Haven, Connecticut Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for his many decades of leadership in the fight for civil rights, equality and social justice in our country. Ed is currently the Vice President of Franchise Relations for the Charlotte Bobcats in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In that role he develops relationships with state and local governments on behalf of that organization, and also ensures diversity in the Bobcats' business partnerships. Ed brings a wealth of professional experience to his current position, having served as a leader in the cable television industry for many years. Before joining the Bobcats' organization, he was the Vice President of Corporate Affairs for BET (Black Entertainment Television) on Jazz: The Jazz Channel. Ed also served with distinction at Telecommunications, Inc. (TCI); District Cablevision, Inc.; and District Cable Advertising. His service with BET networks goes back to 1993, when he served in roles related to network operations, consumer affairs and marketing. Ed received his B.A. from Howard University, and his M.A. from Occidental College. He was a National Urban Fellow, Ford Foundation Fellow and Associate Administrator for procurement for the U.S. Small Business Administration. Throughout his career, Ed has been active in professional and community groups, and maintains various leadership roles within those organizations. He is on the Board of Directors at Theater Charlotte; WTVI Public Television; and the Bobby Phills Foundation. Ed serves on the advisory boards of the Mint Museum as well as the Mint Museum of Craft and Design. Furthermore, he is a member of the Charlotte Rotary, as well as 100 Black Men of Charlotte. I have known Ed for many years and I salute his unwavering commitment to young people. He is an inspirational role model to young African American boys and teenagers, and for that, I am deeply grateful. Ed's dedication to creating a more just and equitable society has had a positive impact on countless lives within and beyond the African American community. On this very special day, I join the friends, family and colleagues of Ed Lewis in thanking and saluting him for his profound contributions to his community, our country and our world.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman for yielding, and for your leadership. In 2003, Congress approved a $78 billion supplemental. In 2004, it was $87 billion. In 2005, it was $82 billion. In 2006, it was $72 billion, and now the administration wants almost $100 billion more. Over 3,400 of our brave troops and countless Iraqis have died in this occupation. The President has dug us deep in a hole in Iraq, and it boggles my mind, boggles my mind that Congress wants to give him another blank check to buy more shovels. This occupation and civil war cannot be won militarily. Mr. Speaker, how many will have to die before this House stops writing blank checks? The American people are looking to Congress to end this failed policy and to bring our troops home. Two months ago, we went to the Rules Committee to try to get an amendment to fully fund the safe and timely withdrawal of the United States forces from Iraq. That is what we should be voting on today, not to give the President another blank check. So I urge my colleagues to vote against this bill.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, let me first of all thank our Chair, Congressman Frank, for his leadership and for yielding; also, Congresswoman Maxine Waters for her very diligent and hard work in crafting this bill. The American dream of home ownership is quickly turning into a nightmare for many, and this bill really does begin to turn this around. And yes, as a former member of the Financial Services Committee, I had the opportunity to work with our Chair. This was when I was first elected, probably in my first or second term, to really craft a housing trust fund, along with our former colleague, now- Senator, Bernie Sanders, and this bill incorporates and would authorize and create a new Affordable Housing Trust Fund. For many years, housing has been a big issue for many of us here. Many of our districts are unaffordable, and this American dream of home ownership is turning into a nightmare. This bill, the Federal Housing Reform Act of 2007, will really help accomplish the objective of our first national housing trust fund. It increases home ownership for extremely low and very low income families. It provides for increasing investment in housing in low income areas; for increasing and preserving the supply of rental and owner-occupied housing for extremely low and very low income families. It also increases investments in our public infrastructure and development in connection with housing assistance. And it also leverages investments from other sources in affordable housing and in public infrastructure development. I want to commend our colleagues again for engaging with our 5,200 national, State and local organizations and leaders that worked for many, many years to create a national housing trust fund. Just yesterday, I met with my board of realtors from Oakland, California. I just want to say thank you again to Mr. Frank for making sure that this is real.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize and offer my personal congratulations to Talmadge E. King, Jr., MD. The American Thoracic Society has awarded Dr. King the Edward Livingston Trudeau Medal to recognize Dr. King's lifelong contribution to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of lung disease. Dr. King, throughout his career, has made significant contributions to pulmonary medicine, in-patient care, research, specialty organization, and academic medicine. As a scientist Dr. King has contributed greatly to the fundamental understanding of interstitial lung diseases. His contributions have served to bridge the gap between basic investigations and clinical science and have guided both research and clinical care. He has been instrumental in developing and leading rigorous clinical research in interstitial lung diseases. The studies, many of which involved multiple centers and were led by Dr King, have served to define specific diagnostic criteria and to determine the role of various tests in establishing a diagnosis. Dr. King has played a major role in creating the international classification system now used to make sense of the different interstitial lung diseases and also to define histological-radiographic correlations that now enable many diagnoses to be established without biopsy. Currently, Dr. King is involved in a reassessment of the histopathologic basis of classification that will permit even further refinements of therapeutic trials. Dr. King has made great strides in clinical and academic medicine. He has been a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine, Subspecialty Board on Pulmonary Disease and is currently on the board of directors of the American Board of Internal Medicine, as well as serving as the ABIM representative to the American Board of Medical Specialties. He either has served or is currently serving on several NIH-wide advisory and/or governing groups, including the board of governors of the Clinical Center at NIH, the board of external advisors, and the advisory board for clinical research. Dr. King has received numerous awards and was recently named to the Institute of Medicine. In all of these roles, Dr. King has not only excelled as a clinician and academic, but has taken a leading role in calling attention to the inequality of health care and lack of diversity in its own ranks. We expect Dr. King will have a significant and far-reaching impact. He has written about disparities in health care as, for example, with his editorial in the American Journal of Medicine, ``Inequality in health care: Unjust, inhumane, and unattended!'' More recently, Dr. King led a group of faculty at San Francisco General Hospital in writing a textbook devoted to diseases of vulnerable and underserved populations. Dr. King continues to serve as a mentor to young enthusiastic investigators, obtaining funding and building a clinical base of operations and he continues to publish prodigiously. Dr. King is recognized in the scientific community for his teaching and lecturing skills. He is prized as a lecturer all over the world. He is equally impressive when teaching students one-on-one as when lecturing to a packed crowd in the largest auditorium at an international meeting. During his career, he has trained many pulmonologists, a number of whom now have assumed leadership roles in academic pulmonary medicine and in the field of interstitial lung disease. As a clinician, Dr. King is truly exceptional. He has incredible experience and clinical judgment honed by years of caring for patients with interstitial lung disease. In his interactions with patients, he demonstrates intelligence, skill and respect and, in so doing, inspires countless students to aspire to the role of clinician. His calm demeanor and straight-forward approach fosters near immediate rapport. He maintains the highest standards of excellence in patient care and expects that from all his colleagues and trainees. His professional competence has been recognized at all levels. He is on multiple lists of the finest doctors, such as the Top Doctors and Best Doctors in America. Above all, he is sought after for his opinions by pulmonary specialists all over the world. Dr. King is the epitome of the clinician's clinician. It is truly my pleasure to join the American Thoracic Society in recognizing my constituent, Talmadge E. King, Jr., MD for his receipt of the prestigious Trudeau Award.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Oregon for yielding, and also for your leadership on this issue. I am very concerned with Iran's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons, like I am concerned about any country's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons. Preventing this, though, will not happen through military action. Unfortunately, the President's saber rattling against Iran is only increasing and is eerily similar to the march to war with Iraq. We must act to prevent another war of preemption, this time against Iran. That is why this amendment is so important. It would clarify that no previous authorization constitutes an authorization to use force against Iran. Secondly, this amendment would make certain that no funds would be used to take military action against Iran in the absence of specific congressional authority or a direct attack as defined by the War Powers Act. Beyond this, we must make certain that the United States is not funding covert action intended to cause regime change in Iran. Unfortunately, the Rules Committee did not rule in order an amendment that I would have that allowed for this sort of debate. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and also to recognize that this is a critical first step this body can take in preventing war with Iran.

Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, let me thank my friend and colleague, a great leader, Congresswoman Woolsey, for her leadership once again on a very, very important issue. It has been 16 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Yet I find it mind-boggling that in the last decade-and-a-half the Pentagon has continued to waste tens of millions, and billions really, of dollars buying outdated Cold War-era weaponry for a national security threat that does not exist. Mr. Chairman, our spending on security should address the current threat that we face. That's why this amendment is so important. By identifying and evaluating the usefulness of Cold War weapons systems, the report from the Pentagon that this amendment would require will give us a good starting point for eliminating wasteful programs. Contrary to what has been said, this is not arbitrary. In fact, military experts have identified at least $60 million in these weapons systems. By getting rid of these outdated programs, we'd not only make the much-needed investment in ensuring health care for all of our children, improving our public schools, ending our dependence on foreign oil, but also improving our homeland security. When you think about it, really, domestic security is national security. We don't need to sacrifice our domestic needs to ensure that our Nation remains safe. This amendment will take steps towards making this balance possible. So I urge my colleagues to look at this amendment. It is very practical. It is very rational. It is very reasonable. And I want to thank my colleague from California for bringing this forward again so that we can really begin to have a full debate with regard to the taxpayer dollars. We need to look at where our tax dollars are going in terms of the real threat that exists now in this 21st century. Certainly it has nothing to do with the Soviet Union. Certainly it has nothing to do with the Cold War era.

Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, first, I want to thank the gentleman from New York for your leadership and for your commitment to ending this horrific genocide. This is an issue that we have worked on together for a while. This issue has been bipartisan, and once again, this is one step forward to hopefully end the carnage that's taking place in Darfur. So I thank Mr. Israel again for your commitment to end this. This amendment is really very simple. It seeks to expand the delivery of humanitarian assistance and to speed the deployment of peacekeepers to the Darfur region of Sudan by exploring the possibility of upgrading a nearby airfield in Abeche, Chad. The amendment expresses the sense of Congress that we should work with the Government of Chad to upgrade this airfield. It also requests that the Pentagon provide Congress with a report on the current operational status of the airfield, including recommendations and cost estimates for upgrading it to accommodate the enhanced operations and increased air traffic. We have spoken out repeatedly on this floor in condemnation of the ongoing genocide in Darfur, but it bears repeating that nearly 3 years ago, on July 22, 2004, under the leadership of a great leader, Congressman Don Payne, Congress declared that genocide was taking place in Darfur. To date, estimates indicate that nearly 450,000 people have been killed, and 2.5 million innocent civilians have been displaced. Quite simply, genocide is happening on our watch, and we have a responsibility to utilize every tool at our disposal to put a stop to it. This is another effort in that direction, and so I want to thank Mr. Israel for your leadership. Not only must we do this. We must pursue divestment for companies doing business in Khartoum. We must lean on China to leverage their influence with Sudan to help stop the violence, and we must continue to urge all parties, the rebels and the government, to lay down their arms and come to the table to negotiate a political situation, but we cannot and we should not hold a cease-fire declaration hostage to a peace agreement or vice versa. So please support this amendment. I thank Mr. Israel again for your leadership.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the gentlewoman from Florida for yielding me this time, and also for your effective leadership on the House Rules Committee. Also, let me just acknowledge and thank our chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Chairman Skelton, for his dedication to the brave men and women who are serving in the Armed Forces and also to our national security. I believe in this bill, Madam Speaker, that we should be taking meaningful steps to end the occupation of Iraq and to bring our troops home. Iraq is in a civil war, and our occupation only inflames the insurgency and puts our troops in harm's way. The facts on the ground betray the administration's empty rhetoric. A majority of the American people support withdrawal from Iraq, and here we have a chance to press the issue further. We need enforceable timetables for withdrawal from Iraq, and we must hold this administration accountable. Also, I am disappointed that the amendment which Congresswoman Woolsey and I offered was not made in order. Our amendment basically would have just simply required the President to present a plan for withdrawal and execute complete withdrawal within 6 months. It recognizes that there is no military solution to this civil war. The bottom line is that we must continue to demand that the President end the occupation and bring our troops home, and we must do so at every opportunity.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. I want to thank the gentleman for his stellar leadership as Chair of the Judiciary Committee, and thank my colleague, Congressman Weiner from New York, for your determination to make our country safer by the introduction of this bill. The reauthorization of the COPS Program really does come at a very important time in our entire country. As an example, COPS has provided since 1994 in my district alone $45.5 million in grants. These funds have allowed law enforcement agencies in my district to hire 552 additional police officers and 45 new school resource officers. COPS has also provided technology grants totaling $2.9 million in my district. If passed, this bill will allow COPS to hire more necessary officers. The people of Oakland, Berkeley, Emeryville, the entire Ninth Congressional District, could see 236 new officers, $13 million in grants, 19 school resource officers and $2.8 million in technology funding over the next 6 years. Our communities throughout the country need the COPS Program. This is about public safety and violence prevention. Community policing does work.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank Chairman Obey, first of all, for his strong and determined effort and his diligent effort to end this war. And, also, I want to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for offering this bill. H.R. 2237 does reflect the goals of what we call the Lee amendment, which was sponsored by Congresswomen Waters, Woolsey, Watson, and Clarke. But let me tell you the goal of this bill, as the goal of the Lee amendment really is an effort to fully fund the safe and timely redeployment of our troops from Iraq. It is responsible. It is practical. It does not cut the funding. But it designates what the supplemental can be used for, and that is to fully fund a safe withdrawal and redeployment and help the Iraqis stabilize their country with a diplomatic, social, and reconstruction effort. Members of Congress now can choose between standing with the President or the American people who want an end to this occupation, or the President, as I said, who wants an open-ended commitment to this failed policy. History will record that this war was a deadly mistake. History will document the damage that it has already done to our security and the security of the world, just as it already records the case for the war as fraudulent, something that we all would have known had the House approved my amendment in 2002 that would have allowed the United Nations inspectors to finish their job. One day history will record that this unnecessary occupation ended. What remains to be seen is when it will end and at what cost in lives and treasure and what cost to our security and the security of the world. For those Members who recognize that the President's policy is a failure but are concerned about voting to end this failed policy and to redeploy our troops, I have a question for you: At what point will you be comfortable with that vote? When the death toll hits 5,000 or 10,000? Please vote for this. Please vote to end this occupation and bring our young men and women home. Please stop the deaths. We have already paid close to half a trillion dollars pursuing this failed policy. Mr. Speaker, you cannot ``win'' an occupation, just as the United States cannot ``win'' an Iraqi civil war. We know that there is no military solution to the situation in Iraq. Our generals have told us that. The fact is that, the presence of our troops, who are seen as an occupying force, enflames the very insurgency that they are asked to deal with. In listening to this desperate rhetoric about ``surrender,'' and about ``defeat'' I am confident that history will look upon such remarks with the same ridicule that it reserves for the Vietnam war supporters discredited ``domino theory'' or the President's ``mission accomplished'' speech on the decks of the USS Abraham Lincoln, more than 4 years ago. Today, members of Congress will decide what side of history they will be on. I urge them to stand with the American people and all those who recognize that there is no military solution to the situation in Iraq, and to vote for H.R. 2237, legislation to fully fund the safe and timely withdrawal of our troops from Iraq.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, more than 4 years ago the House of Representatives authorized a war in Iraq based on misrepresentations that were false, $2 billion a week and climbing. Today, we have an opportunity to support our troops and bring them home when the House will vote to fully fund the safe and timely withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Last November, the American people gave Congress an overwhelming mandate to end the occupation of Iraq. On this day, Mr. Speaker, we can decide whether we stand with the President to continue to support a failed policy with no end, or stand with the American people and our generals, who understand there is no military solution to this civil war and occupation in Iraq. H.R. 2237 reflects the goal of the Lee amendment to fully fund the safe and timely withdrawal of our troops from Iraq. It is responsible, it is practical, it does not cut the funding. But it designates what the supplemental can be used for, and that is to fully fund a safe withdrawal and redeployment and help the Iraqis stabilize their country with a diplomatic, social, and reconstruction effort. This occupation cannot be won militarily. I urge my colleagues to support the goals of H.R. 2237 and to vote for it, because those of us who worked so hard on the Lee amendment prior to today support this and want to see a strong vote for it.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Madam Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Ms. LEE. Madam Chair, first let me thank the Chair of the Intelligence Committee and my friend from my hometown of El Paso, Texas (Mr. Reyes) for his support of this amendment and also for his tremendous leadership as Chair of this committee. And I know the hour is late, so I will keep this short. Madam Chair, this amendment is simple and noncontroversial. It merely requires the President to submit a report to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees describing any authorization granted over the last 10 years to engage in intelligence activities related to the overthrow of democratically elected governments. We all recognize that democracy promotion is at the top of this administration's agenda; and I believe that there is no question that supporting democracy is and should be a nonpartisan issue that we all can agree on. It is, quite simply, fundamental to who we are as a people and what we stand for as a Nation. But we must be vigilant and safeguard against any actions that would undermine or threaten our abilities to really practice what we preach, and it is clear that actions that undermine democracies also undermine our credibility in the world. Furthermore, it affects our ability to be viewed as a serious and legitimate agent of democracy. So if the support of people seeking democratic governance and democracy is to really remain a critical pillar of our foreign policy, we must ensure that we do not interfere with democratically elected governments. Who will believe us if our actions are inconsistent with our words? And how successful will we be as a Nation in achieving our goals? So tonight I offer this amendment to support and protect our efforts in upholding democracy and to help ensure that our actions are really consistent with our values. Madam Chair, I want to conclude by thanking you again for your support, and I want to strongly urge all of my colleagues here today to continue to stand up for democracy and for transparency by supporting this amendment. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LEE. Madam Chair, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes).