Stephen Lynch

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 139) commemorating the life and legacy of President Abraham Lincoln on the bicentennial of his birth.

Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

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

Mr. LYNCH

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

Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 112) supporting the goals and ideals of American Heart Month and National Wear Red Day.

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 663) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 12877 Broad Street in Sparta, Georgia, as the ``Yvonne Ingram-Ephraim Post Office Building''.

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. LYNCH. Again, I ask that all Members support the underlying Resolution 110, congratulating the Pittsburgh Steelers on their Super Bowl championship. I yield back.

Mr. LYNCH. We will reserve the balance of our time.

Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve.

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Paycheck Fairness Act. This legislation will put an end to pay disparities based merely on gender and ensure that employee rights enforced through the Equal Pay Act fulfill the act's original intent. Specifically, this legislation will require employers to prove that pay disparities between men and women have a business justification. According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau statistics, year- round full-time female workers make 77.8 percent to the dollar of their male counterparts. Specifically, the median income for year-round full- time male workers is $45,113. In contrast, the median income for year- round full-time female workers is $35,102. Based solely on statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, the apparent wage disparities between men and women clearly indicate that the provisions contained within the Equal Pay Act need to be revised. I believe that this legislation will strengthen current law to make certain that wage discrimination based on gender ceases to exist. Before I close, I would like to thank Representative Rosa DeLauro for having introduced this legislation since 1997 and praise her for being a champion of this issue. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in voting in support of this important measure to ensure its swift passage.

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Michelle Jasmin, an exceptional artist from West Roxbury, Massachusetts, who has earned the Green Light Competition Award of Excellence. Since 2005, Michelle has been involved in Brookline Massachusetts' Gateway Arts program which encourages individuals with disabilities to passionately study and create art. Michelle's award winning artwork patriotically expresses fellow American's feelings of loss and personal struggle through her paintings of soldiers who have lost their lives in the Iraq war. Michelle's work consists of a hand-bound book of acrylic paintings, ``Gone But Not Forgotten,'' which contains the names, ages, military rank, and towns of Massachusetts soldiers who have died in the Iraq war and is accompanied by unique portraits of each solider. A specific painting, ``A Soldier's Prayer,'' shows depictions of the sorrows of war combined with prayer. Additionally, her painting series ``Untitled'' depicts a suffering man, a reaching hand, a poem on suffering, and a figure breaking free from chains, which outwardly expresses how humans can overcome the feeling of loss. Madam Speaker, it is my distinct honor to take the floor of the House today to join with Michelle's family, friends and Gateway Arts to honor her for her exceptional accomplishments as an artist. I hope my colleagues will join me in celebrating Michelle's talent and wish her good health and success in all her future endeavors.

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. I thank the gentleman from Connecticut for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5772, the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2008. This is the only HUD permanent supportive housing program that is exclusively for people with disabilities. I am pleased to support this legislation, which will reform and strengthen section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act. This bill will actually increase efficiency and better serve eligible disabled persons and, importantly, I think, this bill will streamline the bureaucracy. Those of us who have tried to assist disabled persons with their housing understand the hoops that one must go through. This bill, I think, through the great work of Congressman Murphy and others, has solved much of that. But there is much to be said about the improvements to the current rental assistance program and the system for disbursing capital advances, which actually create and maintain affordable units. Additionally, this bill will require HUD to carry out an important competitive demonstration program to expand the supply of truly supportive housing. I am especially pleased that this bill also authorizes appropriations for that assistance under section 8 in fiscal year 2009. Having grown up in public housing, I am probably more aware than most of the important role that public housing fills in terms of the needs of our disabled community. This is especially true for our disabled citizens, who have a greater need for housing and facilities that meet their particular disabilities. I encourage my colleagues to support those most in need in our country by voting for this important bipartisan measure. I must say Mr. Murphy has been very gracious in recognizing everyone who has been involved here, but I must, in turn, I think, recognize his great involvement and great leadership here. On behalf of all the families out there, like mine, who have disabled persons, and we recognize the challenges that they deal with every day on a regular basis, I just want to extend our thanks to Chris Murphy, the Congressman from Connecticut, for his great work on this bill.

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. I thank the chairman for yielding the time. I also want to thank the chairman, Mr. Frank, for his work on this bill, along with the ranking member. I do have to say that I think much of the fairness that we find in this bill has come at the insistence of the chairman. Mr. Speaker, I would like to also note that while this bill accomplishes quite a bit, the package that the chairman has brought before us today includes not only the overhaul of FHA and the GSEs but also has grants and tax provisions for cities and homeowners alike, but also I would add that it gets at the root of our problem. The root of our problem today is really the origination process for these subprime mortgages. And what this bill does is it includes a tool, a new tool, that will allow us to combat these abuses by creating a nationwide mortgage lending system and registry to license and register individual mortgage brokers. I want to just point out that it's estimated that about $514 billion worth of the loans resetting in 2008, 70 percent are subprime loans.

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the underlying bill, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act, and I want to congratulate the chairman, Mr. Oberstar, and also the ranking member for their great work on this. Mr. Chairman, I rise to engage in a colloquy with you. As you know, I submitted an amendment on this bill earlier in the week related to security training for Amtrak frontline employees. I have been encouraged to withdraw the amendment in order to expedite consideration of this bill, which is very important and which I support. However, I remain troubled by one underlying issue. As evidenced by the terrorist attacks against rail systems in Madrid and in London and in Moscow and in Tokyo and Mumbai, and 3 days ago in Algeria, terrorists have demonstrated their intent to continue to target public transit systems as a favored tactic against civilian populations. In response to this continued threat, Congress in the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to issue comprehensive rail and transit worker training directives to prepare our rail workers and transit workers to prevent and respond to potential terrorist attacks against our public transit systems. With respect to railroad employees, the law required the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and issue security training regulations by last February, 4 months ago, so that each carrier could develop a training program based on this guidance. Regrettably, however, and this gets to the issue of my amendment, the Secretary has failed to comply with the 9/11 Act's rail worker training directives and has not issued a single mandated regulation. Worse yet, this missed deadline comes on the heels of yet another missed deadline by the Department on issuing interim training regulations for transit workers.

Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Chairman, thank you. I want to congratulate you on the great work on this bill. I do want to encourage my colleagues to support the underlying bill.

Mr. LYNCH. If the locomotive engineers, security personnel, our dispatchers, our conductors, train workers and rail workers don't understand what our plan is in the event of an attack, then we really don't have a plan. Mr. Chairman, in light of the continued reports from our Nation's front line rail workers, I respectfully ask you to join me in sending a letter to the Amtrak Inspector General asking him to conduct a review of the current state of security training provided to front line Amtrak employees. It is my understanding that the Inspector General would welcome this responsibility. I yield to the gentleman from Minnesota.

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. Firstly, I would like to thank Representative Brown for graciously yielding me time for speaking on this important resolution. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Concurrent Resolution 336 a resolution which honors the sacrifice and contributions made by America's disabled veterans. The brave men and women currently serving in our Armed Forces, and the veterans who have put on the uniform before them, deserve our utmost appreciation for their continued commitment to the protection of this Nation. Regrettably, millions of these veterans have been wounded and disabled while defending the rights and freedoms that uniquely define our country. According to the latest statistics provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs, there are approximately 2.9 million disabled veterans now receiving services from the VA. Of the 2.9 million disabled veterans, a total of 30,000 have served in either Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. The great sacrifice that these men and women have made on behalf of the American people cannot go unnoticed. American veterans have earned our undying gratitude and our continued support. During last year's appropriation process, we began to head in the right direction, in my opinion, when Congress allocated $87.59 billion to the Department of Veterans Affairs, an $8 billion increase from the previous year. Of this total, $37.2 billion was provided the Veterans Health Administration, with $3.6 billion allocated to post-traumatic stress disorder funding, and $189.25 million for traumatic brain injury funding, and $500 million for medical and prosthetic research. Our commitment to America's disabled veterans is exemplified by honoring these men and women in the present and continuing to invest in their future. I thank Mr. Altmire for introducing this thoughtful resolution and urge my colleagues to join me in supporting House Concurrent Resolution 336.

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to join with Armenians throughout the United States, Armenia, and the world in commemorating the 93rd anniversary of the Armenian genocide, one of the darkest episodes in Europe's recent past. This week, members and friends of the Armenian community gather to remember April 24, 1915, when the arrest and murder of 200 Armenian politicians, academics, and community leaders in Constantinople marked the beginning of an 8-year campaign of extermination against the Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire. Between 1915 and 1923, approximately 1.5 million Armenians were killed and more than 500,000 were exiled to the desert to die of thirst or starvation. The Armenian genocide was the first mass murder of the 20th century, a century that was sadly to be marked by many similar attempts at racial or ethnic extermination, from the Holocaust to the Rwandan genocide and now the ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan. While today is the day in which we solemnly remember the victims of the Armenian genocide, I believe it is also a day in which we can celebrate the extraordinary vitality and strength of the Armenian people, who have fought successfully to preserve their culture and identity for over a thousand years. The Armenian people withstood the horrors of genocide, two world wars, and several decades of Soviet dominance in order to establish modern Armenia. Armenia has defiantly rebuilt itself as a nation and a society--a triumph of human spirit in the face of overwhelming adversity. It is my firm belief that only by learning from and commemorating the past can we work toward a future free from racial, ethnic, and religious hate. By acknowledging the Armenian genocide and speaking out against the principles by which it was conducted, we can send a clear message: never again.

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. Thank you, Chairman Davis, for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5528 will designate the United States Postal Service facility located at 120 Commercial Street in the city of Brockton, Massachusetts, as the ``Rocky Marciano Post Office Building.'' At the outset, I would like to thank the members of the Marciano family and the public officials and the residents in the city of Brockton for their dedication in honoring Rocky Marciano, who was a remarkable champion and citizen, through the naming of this Commercial Street post office. In particular, I would like to note the contributions made by Rocky Marciano's younger brother, Peter Marciano, Sr., also Brockton Mayor Jim Harrington, my good friend, his staff assistant, Donna Daily, Senator Bob Creedon, Representative Tom Kennedy, Chris Canavan and Gerry Creedon, as well as the city council, led by City Councilman Mike Brady. In addition, I would like to note the support of the Brockton High School's legendary football coach, Armond Columbo; Brockton resident Mark Casieri, who owns Rocky Marciano's boyhood home on Dover Street; Goody Petronelli, the iconic fight trainer and owner of downtown Brockton's renowned Petronelli Brothers Gym; and last but not least, Charlie Tartaglia, who is the owner of the historic George's Cafe on Belmont Street and whose walls and whose institution there serves as a pictorial shrine to the sport of boxing and also to the life of Rocky Marciano and the city of Brockton. Mr. Speaker, Rocco Francis Marchegiano, better known as Rocky Marciano, was born and raised in a working class family in the city of Brockton, Massachusetts. He attended Brockton High School, and from his induction in 1943 to his discharge in 1946, he served this country proudly as a United States Army private with the 150th Combat Engineers. It was during his Army service that Rocky Marciano first discovered his love for boxing. And as noted in Mr. Marciano's official biography, ``There were those who didn't think much would become of the 190 pound heavyweight from Brockton in the early days.'' Nevertheless, during his subsequent professional heavyweight boxing career, Rocky Marciano, nicknamed the ``Brockton Blockbuster,'' amassed a professional record of 49 wins, no draws, and no losses, with 43 knockouts. Rocky Marciano held boxing's heavyweight title from 1952 until 1956, and, notably, he remains the only heavyweight champion in boxing history to retire undefeated. However, Rocky Marciano's legacy extends beyond the boxing ring. His achievements, his skill, and relentless work ethic and determination made Rocky Marciano the personification of what is best and proudest in the city of Brockton and in this country. As noted by sportswriter Ed Fitzgerald in a January, 1953, SPORT magazine article, ``All Brockton came to love him and always will . . . He put the city on the map; he gave its citizens a new interest in life.'' In his honor Brockton is commonly referred to as the ``City of Champions,'' and in his footsteps, the city has borne other great champions, including former boxing middleweight champion Marvin Hagler and also the celebrated Brockton High School Boxers football team, who won back-to-back State championships in 2004 and 2005. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Chairman Davis and his subcommittee staff, as well as Denise Wilson of the full committee, for their assistance with this bill. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 5528.

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of a man whose professional life has been dedicated to the skill of his trade and commitment to his fellow union members. John ``Jack'' J. Walsh, Jr. is a remarkable individual with a long and illustrious career in the Glaziers and Glassworkers Local 1044 of Boston, Massachusetts. Jack joined the Glaziers and Glassworkers Union on March 12, 1973. Throughout his tenure with Local 1044, Jack always exhibited a commitment to excellence in his trade and dedication to ensuring the welfare of his fellow union members. Jack has been equally dedicated to serving his local community. Notably, Jack served as a Boy Scout Troop Leader and is currently a member of both the Weymouth Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie 2899 and the Loyal Order of Moose in Braintree. Despite his various accomplishments, Jack has always taken the greatest pride in his roles as a devoted husband and father. For the past 32 years, Jack has had the enormous pleasure and tremendous good fortune of being married to his beloved wife, Patty, and together, they are the proud and loving parents of Jonathan and Gregory. Madam Speaker, it is my distinct honor to take the Floor of the House today to join with Jack Walsh's family, friends and Brothers and Sisters of Labor to thank him for over 35 years of remarkable service to the American Labor Movement. I hope my colleagues will join me in celebrating Jack's distinguished career and wishing him good health and God's blessing in all his future endeavors.

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I too want to thank Mrs. Capito, Chairman Frank, Chairman Waters, and also Mr. Mahoney from Florida for his great work on this. Mr. Speaker, as a cosponsor of H.R. 2930, I am pleased to support this bipartisan legislation to reform and strengthen HUD's section 202 senior housing program. Mr. Speaker, affordable rental housing is essential to low-income seniors living on fixed income. In fact, according to the AARP, there are at least 10 seniors now on waiting lists for every unit of section 202 housing that becomes available. However, in the meantime, for every unit of affordable housing that we create, two are being lost either through the conversion process to market-rate housing or by sponsors who are opting out of the program when their contracts expire. As a result, preserving our existing section 202 senior housing is and should be a national priority. H.R. 2930 eases the development and preservation of section 202 housing for the elderly by reducing administrative burdens while simultaneously expanding the available options for recapitalization. This bill will give the owners of these communities the ability to leverage the equity in those properties. It will also allow them to access much-needed capital and benefit from the current low interest rates being offered by private lenders. Mr. Speaker, by delegating the processing of these capital advances to State housing agencies with staff and experience in housing development, the section 202 process will be aided and made more efficient. Mr. Speaker, as President John F. Kennedy once said to Congress nearly 45 years ago, ``The gradual increase in lifespan in our country and the number of our senior citizens who find themselves in later years dependent on affordable housing presents this Nation with increased opportunities. The increased life expectancy presents opportunities to draw upon the skills of our senior citizens and their wisdom and sagacity, and the opportunity to provide the respect and recognition that they have earned in their later years. It is not enough for a great Nation merely to have added years to their lives. Our objective must also be to add new life to those years.'' I encourage my colleagues to support the growing population of seniors in our country, of these most vulnerable citizens in our country, by voting for this important bipartisan measure to aid the elderly in the section 202 program. Again, I would like to thank my colleague from Florida, Mr. Mahoney, for spearheading this important legislation.

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 1060 on H.R. 3688, I mistakenly voted my vote as a ``yea'' when I should have voted ``nay.'' This was on the Peru Trade Agreement. I took the floor last night around 10 o'clock in the evening and spoke strongly against the bill, and then today I thought it was the rule and I voted for it.

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. I don't know what it means when someone calls something a no-brainer and then he takes credit for it, but I rise in opposition. First of all, I want to say that I have enormous respect for the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin), and Mr. Neal, who is also part of this, Mr. McCrery, Mr. Herger. Look, while I commend my friends for their work in incorporating the International Labor Standards in this agreement, and that is an accomplishment, and I concede that, I must say that, for the record, Peru has already adopted the eight core International Labor Standards in their country already, and yet the record also indicates that, number one, based on the ILO reports, that we've got 2 million children working right now in Peru. It also indicates, the same reports, that 33,000 people are currently subject to forced labor in the Amazon region. Our own State Department reports that there is extensive noncompliance with the minimum wage guidelines, and that more than half of the population in Peru earns the minimum wage. You know what the minimum wage in Peru is? $3.60 a day. There was a gentleman up here earlier tonight who said that Peru's economy was the size of Louisiana. I just beg to differ on that point. The World Factbook indicates it's less than half. But these conditions are far from free trade. Here's what it boils down to. And I appreciate the work that's been done here today, but I work with a lot of the financial services companies in the United States in an effort to try to get fair treatment of our financial service companies around the world. I fly into places like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Jordan and Turkey to try to get those central bankers in those countries to treat our financial institutions, our banks and our investors fairly. We asked them to specifically adopt world standards that are reliable, adopt transparency standards that are reliable, and we force them, we compel, through our economic strength, to meet that standard. But here, when it comes to requiring free trade and fair treatment of American workers, we have a general statement here. We have no real tough enforceability and accountability standards like we require of people who deal with our financial services companies around the world, and I think that is a big mistake. We don't export democracy through the Defense Department. We do it through these trade agreements. And we've got to fight for the American worker like we fight for these multinational corporations.

Mr. LYNCH

Mr. LYNCH. Thank God. Mr. Speaker, I have been remiss, and I would like to at this time yield to my great friend and colleague from Rhode Island, Representative James Langevin, who is a die-hard Red Sox fan and a leader of Red Sox Nation, for whatever time he may consume. (Mr. LANGEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)