Barbara Lee

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, first, I would like to begin by thanking the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) for cosponsoring this amendment which would increase the United States contribution to the Global AIDS Trust Fund from $100 million to $160 million in fiscal year 2002. I would also like to acknowledge and thank the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Kolbe), the chairman of the subcommittee, and the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey), the ranking member, and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) for their strong leadership in the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, and for increasing global HIV and AIDS with this initial $100 million increase, and by a proposed $100 million in the Labor-HHS appropriations bill. Now, the United Nations Secretary General, General Kofi Annan, has stated that a $10 billion annual war chest is needed to fight HIV/AIDS. The Harvard AIDS Institute has stated that $10 billion is needed annually for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. So while these increases are taking us in the right direction, there still is not enough money for the Global AIDS Trust Fund. Last year, the United States spent $490 million on global HIV/AIDS programs. This amount falls short of the billions required to fight the global AIDS crisis. Now, we all know that the global AIDS crisis, particularly as it is affecting the African continent, is the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time. Eight thousand people died of AIDS every day last year and that means six people died every minute. Since the virus was first recognized 20 years ago, 58 million people have been infected and, at current rates of spread, the total will exceed $100 million by 2005. AIDS has orphaned over 10 million children in Africa. By 2010, there will be more than 40 million AIDS orphans. I participated in the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS as part of the official United States delegation. World leaders, international HIV experts, and economists in civil society called for a $7 billion to $10 billion Global AIDS Trust Fund in order to address HIV and AIDS prevention, education, care, and treatment in Africa. So I want to remind my colleagues that last year, both the House and Senate passed bipartisan legislation which authorized the establishment of the World Bank AIDS Trust Fund. This bill was signed into law by President Clinton. Mr. Chairman, at this time I will insert for the Record a letter I received from the Secretary which indicates the importance of this legislation. Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC July 11, 2001. Hon. Barbara Lee, Committee on Financial Services, House of Representatives, Washington, DC Dear Mrs. Lee: Thank you for your letter of June 22nd on the negotiations to create a global fund for AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. I appreciate the leadership and support that Congress has demonstrated on this issue, and agree that the international community should work to reach agreement to establish the fund as quickly as possible. There has been considerable progress toward this end, and the United States is pushing hard to reach agreement on process details and timetables that will enable the fund to be established and operational by January 2002. The United States support a fiduciary role for the World Bank in the global fund, and we are working with other donors to achieve consensus on such a role. We have already had preliminary discussions with the Bank on the substantive elements of such a function. It is also the United States' position that the fund should be donor-controlled and broadly representative of all stakeholders, with a major operational role for medical and public health experts. We believe that a consensus is also beginning to form around these issues. Thank you again for your continuing interest and concern in this urgent matter. Sincerely, Paul H. O'Neill. Mr. Chairman, in order to remain at the forefront, our leadership, the United States leadership, must include providing significant funding to the Global AIDS Trust Fund. Actually, this year our authorization, which was agreed upon by our Committee on International Relations under the leadership of the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), calls for approximately a $750 million distribution. The trust fund will provide direct funding for HIV/AIDS prevention, education, treatment, and care services. These funds are desperately needed. I believe, and experts support, the fact that the United States must commit a minimum of $1 billion for the Global AIDS Trust Fund in order to lead this international effort. This will help leverage the $10 billion requirement, and it will keep the United States in a leadership position. Now, I understand the financial constraints which are presented in this bill. However, I strongly believe that we must do everything that we can at every opportunity to bring us closer to that $1 billion level. So our $60 million amendment will do just that. As discussions about a comprehensive and coordinated global response to the AIDS crisis has ensued, there have been many questions about whether or not African countries and HIV/AIDS service providers will be able to expend large amounts of funding on the pandemic. I want to remind my colleagues about the authorizing language in H.R. 3519, the Global AIDS and Tuberculosis Relief Act of 2000. The authorizing language included language that indicated that we must build the necessary health care and social infrastructure, while at the same time providing for care and treatment to ensure long-term success. There have been reports which claim the developing countries and HIV/ AIDS service providers will not effectively be able to absorb or distribute large amounts of money for the global pandemic. But according to a USAID report, there are over 25 countries that have been identified as high impact countries, yet aid is only scaling up in four of these countries. According to the USAID missions, capacities for increases in funding in Africa alone could be doubled and spent effectively. As for offsets, I want to state for the record that the offsets for this amendment will come from an across-the-board cut of the foreign military financing budget increases from last year. These cuts do not include funding for Israel, Egypt, or Jordan. Our amendment will also cut funding from the Andean antinarcotic initiatives specifically, military spending for Peru only, once again, only from the increase this year. Mr. Chairman, I urge adoption of the amendment.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I rise to strike the last word. I stand today in strong support of the Kucinich-Lee amendment that seeks to limit the Export-Import Bank's support of fossil fuel projects. Global warming is happening. In response to the President's request, the National Academy of Science has completed its latest study on the subject. They concluded: ``Greenhouse gases are accumulating in earth's atmosphere as a result of human activities . . . . Temperatures are, in fact, rising.'' Their report goes on to say that ``national policy decisions made now and in the longer-term future will influence the extent of any damage suffered by vulnerable human populations and ecosystems later in this century.'' The impact of these rising temperatures will be felt first and hardest in the developing world. The Sahara is expanding. Pacific islands are disappearing beneath rising waters. One of the criticisms of the Kyoto Protocol raised by President Bush and others is that the developing world is left out of the effort to reduce emissions. At the same time, the Export-Import Bank is the largest public financier of fossil fuel projects, the leading culprit behind global warming. We are bankrolling global climate change. Instead, we should be investing at home and abroad in cleaner energy technologies. Wind energy, for example, is a proven commercial success and a great candidate for further investment. This last week the leading industrial nations of the world--except the United States--met at Bonn and agreed to take up the challenge of global climate change. Because the U.S. has abandoned the Kyoto process, we did not have a seat at that table. We must be leaders on climate change and we must begin by passing this amendment. I urge you to support this amendment and to vote in favor of cleaner technologies and more consistent policies.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this amendment to disapprove Normal Trade Relations with China. Last year Congress voted to grant Permanent Normal Trade Relations to China. After much consideration, I voted against that bill because I did not believe that the United States should enact a trade policy that rewards the use of child and prison forced labor; environmental degradation; and religious and political repression. I also opposed PNTR because of the enormous, $83 billion dollar trade deficit we have with China. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that PNTR will cost 872,000 American jobs in the next decade, 84,000 of them from my home state, California. That deficit is growing larger, while our own economy is slowing down, making jobs an even more precious commodity. We cannot make American jobs a casualty of our trade policy. And while the trade deficit increases, so does China's persecution of its own citizens. Our trade policy has done nothing to promote the protection of human rights. The Chinese government has trampled reproductive rights of women, imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners for carrying out their exercises, and arrested political dissidents for the simple expression of their beliefs. I support free and fair trade. An $83 billion dollar deficit that siphons off American jobs is not free and fair. A national industrial policy that is based on the forced labor of children and prisoners is not free and fair. Therefore, I urge you to support H.J. Res. 50.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to me. Today I rise in strong opposition to this rule and this bill. As one who attended a Catholic school for 8 years, and a person of very deep faith, I believe faith-based organizations do enormous good in our communities, our country, and across the world helping millions of people. They feed the hungry, heal the sick, house the homeless. Nonprofit religious organizations should be supported with increased funding and technical assistance. That is what charitable choice should do. There is not one cent in this bill to help these organizations in their noble work. However, providing Federal funding directly to churches, synagogues, and houses of worships, mosques, which this bill does, represents direct government intrusion into matters of faith. Government cannot and government should not interfere with the practice of religion. This bill subjects houses of worship to government control. Mr. Speaker, the IRS will have a field day. This bill will allow government-sponsored discrimination. It tramples State and local civil rights laws, and allows the use of Federal taxpayer dollars to fund discrimination in employment. For example, it would allow organizations to refuse to hire Jews, Catholics, African American Baptists, depending on their religious policies and practices of their denomination. It would use taxpayer funds to fund that discrimination. That is intolerable. Our government cannot turn its back on decades of fighting against discrimination and start funding discrimination. I urge Members to oppose this rule.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time. Let me just say as I sit here listening to this debate, I am very troubled by how it has degenerated into a debate about intellectual property rights as compared to saving lives. It is really an unfair debate, because there is no comparison in terms of what we are talking about. Intellectual property rights, our trade policies, many of them were developed and set into stone way before people were dying from HIV and AIDS. So we should not even be making that comparison tonight. We are talking about the basic values of our country, of people in our country who care about people who are dying. We are not really talking about property rights. I think after tonight's debate, this House needs to go back to the drawing board and really reassess our trade policies and how we instruct our trade representatives. And, yes, I have talked with Secretary of State Colin Powell twice. I have talked with our Trade Representative. I was a delegate to the United Nations at the U.N. special session on AIDS. The whole world is looking at this House of Representatives to stop what we are doing in terms of our trade policies and to say, yes, we want these countries to begin to be developing their own generic drugs so that they can save the lives of millions and millions of their citizens.

Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding time to me. Mr. Chairman, I rise tonight to express my strong support as a cosponsor of the Waters-Kucinich-Crowley-Lee amendment. I want to thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) for her consistent leadership on each and every issue that affects the human family that we deal with here in this House. This important amendment would restore the ability of developing countries to pass laws that make HIV and AIDS pharmaceuticals and medical technologies accessible to people living with HIV and AIDS. The global AIDS crisis is the greatest humanitarian pandemic of our time. There are 36 million people worldwide living with AIDS. In sub- Saharan Africa alone, 6,000 people die each and every day from HIV and AIDS. The United Nations estimates that without a comprehensive response to this crisis, by 2005, there will be 100 million people infected with HIV and AIDS. That is over 100 million people. That is mind-boggling. This amendment will allow African nations and those in developing countries to close the gap in access to HIV and AIDS therapies for people living with AIDS. Existing World Trade Organization policies unduly restrict the flexibility of countries to address the HIV and AIDS pandemic. This results in lives being lost. By supporting the Waters-Kucinich-Crowley-Lee amendment, we will reinforce our support for countries to address their own crisis. Of the 36 million people living with HIV and AIDS, 95 percent of them, that is 95 percent, live in developing countries and really cannot afford any medication. They really do face a death sentence. This is a moral outrage. We must not tolerate the current policy which dictates that life with a manageable illness is possible only, only if one has money, only if one is wealthy. However, death from AIDS is certain if one is poor. For example, the continent of Africa accounts for only 1.3 percent of the global pharmaceutical market. That is because the average person lives on less than $300 a year while the average AIDS treatment may cost as much as $15,000 per year. Africans, poor people, people living in poverty, simply cannot afford drugs at the current price. We have only just begun our battle with this global killer. So I strongly urge all my colleagues to do the right thing and vote for this amendment. We must not only talk about our moral concerns about this horrendous pandemic, but we must support public policies to solve it. Finally, as Members of Congress in the most powerful country in the world, we must remember ``to whom much is given, much is expected.''

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the DeGette amendment, which would strike language banning the use of Federal funds for abortion services for women in Federal prisons. Since women in prison are completely dependent on the Federal Bureau of Prisons for all of their health care services, the ban on the use of Federal funds is a cruel policy that traps women by denying them access to reproductive care. Abortion is a legal option for women in America. The ban for women in Federal prisons is unconstitutional because freedom of choice is a right that has been protected under our Constitution for more than 25 years. Furthermore, the great majority of women who enter our Federal prison system are impoverished and often isolated from family, friends, and resources. We are dealing with very complex histories that often tragically include drug abuse, homelessness, HIV/AIDS and physical and sexual abuse. To deny basic reproductive choice would only make worse the crisis faced by the women and the Federal prison system. The ban on the use of Federal funds is a deliberate attack by the antichoice movement to ultimately derail all reproductive options. Limiting choice for incarcerated women puts other populations at great risk. This dangerous slippery slope erodes the right to choose little by little. We are denying these women the right to health care benefits that every other woman has readily available to them. Women in prison receive limited prenatal care, have limited resources, and must endure the fear of losing custody of their infant upon birth. These circumstances make it an extremely difficult situation for pregnant prisoners. It is my belief that freedom of access must be unconditionally kept intact. Therefore, I strongly urge my colleagues to protect this constitutional right for women in America and vote `yes' on the DeGette amendment.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, today we are debating a resolution commending defense contractors and the military for the ballistic missile defense test of July 14, 2001. This test, not the personnel, mind you, but this test, is really something to condemn, not to commend. The defense industry and the Pentagon have now passed their half- scaled-down, simplified test. This is really nothing to celebrate. When our schools have that failure rate, the President wants to close them down. The military-industrial complex is apparently held to a much lower standard. More fundamentally, this test moves us ever closer to violating the antiballistic missile treaty. We signed and ratified the ABM because we recognize that missile defense systems could destabilize more than they could protect. We cannot go back on our word and abandon this treaty. Peace is really our national security. We cannot be a nation that approaches nonproliferation while really practicing escalation, and that is what this test has taken us down the road to. Instead of leading the way towards responsible disarmament, we are unraveling arms control agreements. We must be a nation that decides where we really want to go. Do we want to go down a path to a new arms race, or forward to a real post- Cold War peace? Attempts to build a national missile defense system are really not enhancing our national security, they are destabilizing the world, which I heard over and over again just 2 weeks ago from our European allies. Violating treaties does not make the world a safer place. Congress should not be celebrating spending billions and billions of dollars on national missile defense. We should be standing by our treaty agreements, we should be working to end nuclear proliferation, and we should be spending that money on vital national needs, such as health care, education, and housing. Yes, there are dangers in the world, but missile defense systems will spark new arms races, nuclear proliferation, violated treaties, and destabilizations, and also billions in spending. These are the fruits of missile defense. That is nothing to celebrate.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and salute Patricia Halsey Laverdure for her faithful service to the United States Military. Colonel Laverdure has dedicated her life to providing legal counsel to military members and their families. When she joined the U.S. Marine Corps, she was interested in criminal law, and became a very successful judge advocate. However, Colonel Laverdure was drawn to family law because she knows the burdens that military families face, such as long periods of separation, spousal abuse and low pay. She saw the need for family services so she began to practice family law. Colonel Laverdure established the first spousal abuse programs for the U.S. Marine Corps Family Service Centers. Colonel Laverdure later became the Chief of the Legal Assistance Branch of the Maintenance and Logistics Command Pacific for the U.S. Coast Guard in Alameda, California. At a time when the military was downsizing, Colonel Laverdure was overwhelmed with huge caseloads. Despite the large amounts of casework, she enlisted the aid of military attorneys from the Navy Reserve and, together with other Coast Guard Attorneys, completed their cases and increased the number of clientele. Colonel Laverdure has won numerous awards such as the Meritorious Achievement Award, the ABA LAMP Distinguished Award and the Coast Guard Meritorious Award. It is only natural that Congress should recognize Colonel Laverdure for her patriotism, her service to the United States military service and her human compassion for her others. I proudly join Colonel Laverdure's family and friends to pay tribute to Colonel Patricia Halsey Laverdure.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for yielding me this time and for his leadership on this issue. I stand in strong support of this amendment, which will ensure that we move forward to combat global warming. Global climate change is underway. Denying the existence of global warming will not make it go away nor can the United States afford to deny its role. Just last week I had the opportunity to talk to European leaders about climate change and, believe me, they have grave concerns about our retrenchment. Our country must bear its share of this burden. Now, President Bush recently asked the National Academy of Sciences to revisit the issue. They concluded greenhouse gases are accumulating in the Earth's atmosphere as a result of human activities. Temperatures are in fact rising. Their report goes on to say the national policy decisions made now and in the long-term future will influence the extent of any damage suffered by vulnerable human populations and ecosystems later in this century. Voluntary reductions, which the President advocates, are not sufficient. I urge adoption of this amendment. We need to send a clear message that this Congress is committed to protecting our environment, protecting the public health, and protecting our future.

Ms. LEE of California

Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Sanders/Crowley/DeLauro prescription drug reimportation amendment to the Agriculture Appropriations bill. This amendment will lay the groundwork for lowering the cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. by 30-50%. This amendment will allow prescription drug distributors and pharmacists to purchase FDA-approved prescription drugs from anywhere in the world at competitive and reasonable prices. It is a shame that millions of Americans are not able to afford the outrageously high cost of prescription drugs in this country. Their quality of life continues to deteriorate while we continue to limit their access to basic health necessities. Citizens of the United States pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. Many of our constituents will travel to Mexico or Canada to buy the same drugs for a lesser value. In my district in California, the average prices that senior citizens must pay are 97% higher than the prices that Canadian consumers pay and 96% higher than the prices that Mexican consumers pay. For every $1 spent in the United States for prescription drugs, those same drugs are purchased in Switzerland for .65, the United Kingdom for .64, France for .51, and Italy for .49. Why should patients have to continually compromise their health while being forced to decide which prescription drugs to buy and which drugs not to take because they cannot afford to pay for all of them. These patients cannot afford to pay such burdensome costs. These patients are forced to gamble with their health when they cannot afford to pay for the drugs needed to treat their conditions. Every day, these patients have to live with the fear of having to encounter major medial problems because they were denied access to prescription drugs they could not afford to pay out of their pocket. Often times, these individuals must choose between buying food or medicine. With outrageously high energy costs in California right now, some seniors and other Californians have to choose between paying their electric bill or their drug bills. This is wrong! All Americans should be entitled to medical treatment at affordable prices. The Sanders/Crowley/DeLauro amendment will allow these patients to buy the prescription drugs needed to lead a healthy and productive life. This amendment will break the monopoly the pharmaceutical industry now has over reimportation. Let's stop gambling with the lives of our patients and support this reimportation amendment in order to cut these outrageous prescription drug prices. Americans deserve the right to lead healthy lives by purchasing prescription drugs at reasonable and competitive prices.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio.

Ms. LEE. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I rise to enter into a colloquy with the chairman of the committee. I had intended to offer an amendment today to provide funding to make it easier for students to purchase organic and whole foods in the school breakfast and lunch programs, but I will not offer my amendment today. I want to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bonilla), and the ranking member, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) for their support of my intention to assist schools in purchasing healthy foods for their school breakfast and lunch programs. This would include organic, locally grown and fresh produce. At a time when our children's health is threatened by such conditions as obesity and type II diabetes, it is more important than ever to ensure that they have healthy options when they eat at school. Currently, our tax dollars buy a high fat, high caffeine, fast food diet, which is turning into an extremely expensive public health problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, youth nutrition and obesity are an epidemic in the United States. The Healthy Farms and Healthy Kids Report states that the awful irony is that our multibillion dollar investment is yielding a multibillion dollar public health crisis in school-aged children while at the same time 85 percent of family farmers who are perched precariously on the edge of urban sprawl are threatened with extinction. In many school districts in my State of California and around the Nation, urban, rural, and suburban, it is a real challenge to serve fresh, ethnically diverse meals prepared on-site from whole ingredients obtained by local farms. With the commitment from the schools and the community, things can be better. In my district, for example, in Berkeley, California, they are facilitating a district-wide food systems-based curriculum supporting garden classrooms and cooking programs in every school. In Berkeley, local funding has allowed the schools to have a garden in every school, and they are opening fresh salad bars with organic and other fresh foods. So this will help our schools and our local farmers and, of course, our students. With large purchasers like schools, we believe we will demonstrate that we can bring more healthy foods into our schools while lowering the costs but still supporting our farmers. So I would just like to ask the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bonilla) for his help really in the future to secure funds to make it easier to get healthy foods from our farms to our children and to our schools, of course. I look forward to working with him and our ranking member, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), to ensure that this provision could possibly be contained in the final version of the fiscal year 2002 Agricultural Appropriations Act.

Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the chairman and our ranking member for their colloquy and for their assistance and look forward to working with them. I come from an urban community. I look forward to working with our rural and suburban and urban legislators on this.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I stand today in strong support of this amendment to cut funding from the National Ignition Facility and to transfer that money to crucial nuclear nonproliferation programs and to the national Treasury. This project has already sucked up billions of taxpayer dollars while endangering our environment and sabotaging efforts to reduce nuclear nonproliferation. Instead of continuing to go down this path, let us stand up today for peace, for security, and fiscal common sense. NIF has cost billions and will cost billions more and will not increase our national security. The National Ignition Facility is not some crucial component to our security system. It is an albatross, mired in cost overruns and dubious science. When Edward Teller, the father of the hydrogen bomb, says that NIF has no utility whatsoever, we really should listen. Now, at the same time, the Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill cuts funding for nonproliferation programs that represent an investment in peace, which is really an investment worth making. So this amendment restores badly needed dollars to programs that will make us truly safer. This is not a trade-off in security. It is an enhancement of security. Now is not the time to cut support for efforts to curtail the spread of nuclear weapons. Reducing the number of nuclear weapons in the world and reducing the amount of nuclear material in the world enhances our security. So we must move forward toward a safer future, not backwards to a more dangerous past. Finally, this amendment returns over $56 million to the national treasury. Fifty-six million dollars. That money could go to house the homeless, to care for our seniors, or to feed the hungry. Without housing, without medical care, without food for all, how can we really be secure? Once again I urge my colleagues' support of this amendment.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor today to salute and celebrate the 90th birthday of a Berkeley legend, City Councilmember and Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek. Maudelle was born the grandchild of slaves in Jefferson, Arkansas. Having been raised to be socially conscious and responsible, upon her arrival in the San Francisco Bay Area more than 50 years ago, she immediately plunged into the civil rights struggles of the day. One of the main issues of the post-WWII era was fair housing. Landlords often refused to rent to African Americans and new housing was built with discriminatory covenants not allowing Blacks to buy houses in certain areas. Maudelle was a key leader in the struggle for fair housing that culminated in California Assemblyman Rumford's Fair Housing Act. Maudelle also helped shape the political future of this country by persuading a young University of California graduate student named Ron Dellums to run for Congress. I worked with and was mentored and trained by Congressman Dellums. Without Maudelle's influence on Ron, I may not be in Congress today. Wherever she has worked, Maudelle has been an organizer. Serving as Director of the West Berkeley Senior Center, she simultaneously was on the State Executive Board of Service Employees International Union, Local 535. When Berkeley bureaucrats claimed she was too old to run the senior center, she ran for City Council and won. She is now serving her seventh term on the Council and has been re-elected by larger margins with each progressive election. Maudelle was the first Berkeley City Councilmember, and one of the first elected officials in the state, to take action against the AIDS pandemic by sponsoring educational materials, needle-exchange programs and housing for AIDS patients. When the county hospital tried to close its facilities serving AIDS patients, she chained herself to the doors to call attention to the plight of AIDS victims. As a result of her efforts, that facility remains open today. Maudelle has been an incredible influence in my life. Maudelle taught me that I was not only a citizen of the United States but a citizen of the world. While a student at Mills College, Maudelle helped me organize the Black Student Union's study mission trip to Ghana, Africa where she spent one month with the students. Her insight and counsel greatly enriched their experience. As a leader of the peace movement, Maudelle introduced me to the movement and shared with me her valuable and critical insight into United States foreign policy and international affairs. I have travelled with Maudelle to many countries and witnessed first hand her interaction with world leaders. They are inspired by her brilliance and her clarity of the issues affecting the global community. Maudelle continues to be persistent in the fight to reorder our national priorities. Reducing the military budget in order to improve the quality of life for people has been the cornerstone of her work for social, political and economic justice. Maudelle is a role model and a tireless worker for civil and human rights, peace and justice. I proudly join her many friends and colleagues in honoring Maudelle for 90 years of service and commitment to bettering the lives of her fellow citizens, community members and constituents. Congratulations Maudelle and thank you for your wonderful example and inspiration.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and thank the gentleman for pushing forward this Sanders-Lee-Quinn amendment, which would add $2 billion in forward funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. The supplemental appropriations bill as written ignores one of our most urgent situations, and that is our Nation's energy crisis which we are experiencing in California, but it is moving nationwide. We must provide real and meaningful increases for LIHEAP, which help seniors, people with disabilities and low-income individuals and families pay their skyrocketing utility bills. LIHEAP assistance helps people for whom rising energy costs are not an inconvenience, but a real catastrophe. Currently, only one in three American households that are eligible for LIHEAP assistance receives any support. In California, fewer than 10 percent of the 2.1 million eligible households will receive LIHEAP funding unless funding is increased significantly. State officials assisted as many Californians in the first 5 months of this year than in all of 2000. Furthermore, at least 19 States have completely exhausted their LIHEAP funds or are almost out of money or in dire need. We held a meeting in my district in Oakland, California, with the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt), the minority leader. At our meeting, Members of Congress saw the faces of this crisis. They heard from persons with disabilities, from low-income individuals and families. They heard from people in California who have been paying the price of this crisis for the last year. Now we have an opportunity to help, help those most vulnerable. Unfortunately, we will not allow, as I understand it, this amendment to come forward. Our Nation needs this. Senior citizens need this. Low- income families and individuals need an additional $2 billion minimum in LIHEAP.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate a celebration of freedom known as Juneteenth. In cities across the country, thousands of Americans--people of all nationalities, races and religions--are assembling to rejoice and reflect upon a milestone in American history--the official end of slavery. Celebration of Juneteenth, June 19, as Emancipation Day began in 1865 when Texan slaves were finally notified of their freedom from the shackles of slavery. Prior to June 19, 1985, rumors of slavery were widespread; however, emancipation was not granted to Texan slaves until General Gordon Granger issued an order in Galveston, Texas declaring freedom for all slaves--some two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. When Texan slaves were finally given the news, a spirit of jubilee spread throughout the community as they prayed, sang and danced in celebration of their freedom. Newly freed slaves left the homes of slave-owners and immediately searched for family members and economic opportunities. Some simply chose to relish in their freedom. As a native Texan myself, I feel so strongly about the importance of Juneteenth and its legacy today. Although many place significance on the untimely manner in which the news was delivered, reflecting upon the triumph and perseverance of the human spirit captures the true essence of the Juneteenth celebration. Juneteenth honors those African-Americans who travailed and survived the institution of slavery, thus encouraging free generations of African-Americans to take pride in the legacy of perseverance and strength they left behind. As the popularity of Juneteenth grows both nationally and globally, people from all races, nationalities and creeds and realizing that Juneteenth is not only synonymous with slavery. Juneteenth represents an acknowledgment of a period in our history that shaped and continues to influence our society today.

Ms. LEE

Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson), our newest Member of Congress, our newest woman here in the United States Congress, our newest member of the Congressional Black Caucus, a person who I served with for many years in the California legislature; and I believe that today is probably her actual first speech on the floor since her swearing-in speech last Thursday.

Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), for yielding the time to me and for allowing us this time today and for his assistance and in pushing this resolution forward to honor a great human being. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 97, a bill that recognizes the enduring contributions, the heroic achievements, and the dedicated work of my friend and mentor Shirley Anita Chisholm. I am honored to sponsor this bipartisan resolution, and I want to thank the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella) for being here with us today in celebrating the numerous accomplishments of a dynamic woman who has devoted her life to public service and who broke many glass ceilings. Ms. Chisholm is now retired but continues to touch the lives of many individuals. I would like to recognize Ms. Chisholm for her courageous leadership as an African American pioneer, a heroic woman, and an outstanding American. Ms. Chisholm became the first African American woman elected to Congress in 1968. And today, as the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella) just indicated, we have 15 phenomenal African American congresswomen who serve the Nation in an amazing way. Shirley Chisholm was elected during a time when there were few women elected officials, as well as few ethnic minority women in public office. The gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) outlined the many committees that Congresswoman Chisholm served on. He mentioned the powerful Committee on Rules. She knew how to exercise power for the good of the country and she exhibited remarkable political skills, clarity on the issues, and tough love as she masterfully engaged in the legislative process. Ms. Chisholm worked hard to get elected to Congress as a woman and as an African American and as an American. While in office, she stood up for the principles she was guided by, despite the numerous battles she faced in office. She fought the fight for what she believed in, despite the struggles she faced as a woman and as an African American. She represented the voice of minorities, women, and children while in public office and worked hard to make sure that their issues were addressed and incorporated in all aspects of public policy. Ms. Chisholm was really a woman far ahead of her time. She was truly a visionary. I was so proud and amazed each time I heard her speak fluent Spanish. She is proudly bilingual. One of Ms. Chisholm's slogans used in her campaign was a catalyst for change. That indeed she was. Her extraordinary work has inspired and empowered many, many women to become active citizens by engaging in the political process. Mrs. Chisholm inspired me through her wisdom and vision to strive for success and stand up for fundamental rights. She was my role model and convinced me that I could achieve anything if I work hard for it even in a white male dominated society. I have so many personal, wonderful and inspiring memories of Shirley Chisholm, but just for a minute let me just mention one. Imagine a young woman on public assistance raising two small boys as a single mother, trying to get through college. One day, this young woman meets an inspirational and brilliant African-American Congresswoman from New York who was running for President. She was really in awe. Yes, that young woman way back there in 1972 was me. That powerful woman was Mrs. Shirley Chisholm, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, Candidate Shirley Chisholm, who visited my college at Mills College in Oakland, California to convince students to become organized by getting involved in her campaign. I reflect upon this today because I see so many young girls and women who need role models and mentors to encourage them to develop their potential. Shirley Chisholm's courage and wisdom enabled many women to enter careers that were really nontraditional. Her mission to incorporate women, children, African Americans and all minorities into public policy opened the door to a whole new debate that was lacking in Congress during her time. Mrs. Chisholm was truly unbought and unbossed. Through her example, she encouraged me, like many, to believe in myself and work hard in our mission to expand women's rights and minority rights as an African American. In 1972, Mrs. Chisholm wanted to incorporate her ideals and beliefs into a larger scale. So, as we know, in 1972, she became the first African American, the first woman, the first African-American woman to be a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. I was proud to have been part of her campaign. In fact, that was the very first political endeavor of my entire life. Like so many young people, I was not sure that politics could make a difference in my life or the lives of my communities. But she convinced me to take a chance. She told me first that I better register to vote, and then she encouraged me to become more involved. So I want to congratulate Mrs. Chisholm for her great accomplishments and take this time to celebrate her courage, her wisdom and her strength. I thank Shirley Chisholm for giving me a glimpse of the grand possibilities that public service really does provide individuals, and I thank her for her challenging life's work as well as for her kind and gentle spirit. Each time that I speak with Shirley Chisholm, I am inspired to go back to the drawing board, to regroup, to bounce back with a new-found sense of passion, fire and enthusiasm until of course that there is liberty and justice for all. For these reasons and for many more today, I want to just thank Shirley Chisholm. Like so many others, I deeply love, respect and honor her. I urge my colleagues to join me in celebrating the accomplishments of Mrs. Chisholm by supporting this resolution. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, let me just say to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) I vividly remember the day I met her, and it was at an event for Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm in Los Angeles. That is a testimony to, I think, the type of people that Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm brought together all over our country, men, women, minorities, people of conscience throughout our country. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), a woman who serves with distinction the Washington, D.C. area, our Washington, D.C., the home of all of us, and a woman who serves in the tradition of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm.

Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), whose life has been touched in many ways by Shirley Anita Chisholm.

Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to once again thank all my colleagues for sharing this time this afternoon with us. I think it is so important that America, our young women, our girls, all of America understand who this great woman was. Fortunately, we will have the Congressional Record now. Fortunately, her legacy will be recorded. We just heard a glimpse of that today in terms of her life's work. One thing I want to mention in closing is that I remember very vividly Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm working in a bipartisan fashion. I know the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Mrs. Mink) served with her, as she indicated; and I know she knows how effective Congresswoman Chisholm was in working across the aisle. I think she also has taught us all a lesson that we probably need to look at and study at this point in our work here in the United States Congress. So I will close now by thanking once again all of our cosponsors on this resolution. I want to once again honor and thank Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm for everything that she has done and say that not only should Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm be celebrated and honored during black history or women's history, but she should go down in American history as one of the greatest human beings who ever walked the face of this Earth.

Ms. LEE. Yes, I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Mrs. Mink).