Carolyn McCarthy

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may insert material relevant to H.R. 2517 into the Record.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. I have the right to close.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Lampson) who has been certainly at the forefront on trying to protect our children. I thank him for his work.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mrs. McCARTHY of New York asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, today I rise with my colleague, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Lampson), the sponsor of H.R. 2517, the Protecting Our Children Comes First Act, and urge my colleagues to support the reauthorization of the Missing Children's Assistance Act. I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Lampson, for his continued leadership on this issue. Mr. Lampson is founder of the Missing Children's Caucus and has worked tirelessly to support the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. His passion for protecting our Nation's children inspires others to get involved and work to create safe places for our young people, including on the Internet. This bipartisan reauthorization continues the work of the Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Child Protection Division's missing and exploited children's programs, including funding for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Furthermore, this legislation continues the authorization for National Incidence Studies, known as ``NISMART.'' According to CRS, the first NISMART study ``provided the first nationally representative, comprehensive data on the incidence of missing children.'' The second NISMART study resolved some methodological challenges of the first study, and included runaway or throwaway children as well. These studies have helped law enforcement, Federal agencies, and nonprofits in their work to prevent children from going missing or to help children get home. Missing children are some of our most vulnerable young people, and this work is critical in protecting this population. This legislation works to help protect not only children who go missing, but it also works to protect our children who are sexually exploited, a horrendous thought for any of us to consider, and yet it is part of our reality. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children serves not only as a national clearinghouse and resource center on missing children but also serves that same purpose for exploited children. Among multiple programs, NCMEC operates as a CyberTipline for tips and leads on child sexual exploitation. The CyberTipline allows for citizens and electronic communication providers to report incidents of various types of child exploitation, including online enticement of children for sexual acts, child prostitution, and child pornography. This reauthorization expands the reach of the CyberTipline to include categories of exploitation that connect with new technologies or activities. I want to share a success story from the Child Victim Identification Program at NCMEC. This program reviews child pornography to gain clues that will lead to the identification of a child. In this particular case in 2005, those reviewing these horrendous images also found images of a young boy partially clothed, including a photo of him in his Boy Scout uniform. They were able to read the patches on his uniform and discovered he was in the Nassau County Boy Scout Council, which I represent here in this Congress. The program has set procedure which led them to contacting law enforcement, who identified this child and later arrested a suspect. From this story, there are two points I want to make. First, this program does wonderful, and yet very difficult, work to protect and save children who are being exploited. Secondly, these crimes happen everywhere. Since its inception in 1984, NCMEC has received 173 reports of missing children in Nassau County, New York, and 4,319 for New York State. Of those 4,319 children who went missing, 4,146 were recovered. H.R. 2517 strengthens the ability of the Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and its programs, including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, to work to eradicate child pornography, guide efforts for online safety for children and unite families. These programs also support the work of law enforcement, including training law enforcement on multiple issues around missing, runaway, throwaway and sexually exploited children. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals, the United States Postal Inspectors, and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement all have detainees at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Until all children are safe from predators in our society, this work must continue and we must reauthorize the Missing Children's Assistance Act. Before I close, I want to thank the staff who worked on this reauthorization: Abby Shannon in Mr. Lampson's office, Deborah Kookbeck, Ruth Friedman, Denise Forte of the majority staff of the Committee on Education and Labor, and Kirsten Duncan and Susan Ross on the minority staff of the Committee on Education and Labor. H.R. 2517 is bipartisan effort and I urge my colleagues to support the passage of this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the amendment to S. 2371. This bill makes technical corrections to the College Cost Reduction and Access Act in order to ensure that the Department of Education and other relevant stakeholders reflect congressional intent when implementing the law. Mr. Speaker, during this Congress we have made significant commitments to our Nation's students and families by putting resources into the hands of those that need it the most. The College Cost Reduction and Access Act as passed and signed by the President does more to help Americans pay for college than any other effort since the GI Bill, at no new cost to taxpayers. Specifically, the legislation provided a landmark investment of $20 billion in additional funding for Pell Grants, reductions in the interest rates on student loans, and the creation of programs to help students manage debt, as well as encourage individuals to pursue public service. Providing this critical funding is a large part of our efforts to increase access and affordability to higher education. Our work on reforming and strengthening higher education is not finished for this Congress. I look forward to working with Chairman Miller and the rest of the Education and Labor Committee on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act as it continues through the process. As passed by the Senate and amended in this bill, the technical amendments contained in the bill clarify the definition of untaxed income and benefits to ensure it does not include those items in the calculation that were removed from the list under CCRAA; clarifies that married borrowers' income-based repayment payments shall be determined solely on the individual borrower's loan information and the individual's income without considering the spouse's income or any other loan debt that they may have if the married borrower files taxes separately; conforms language in the TEACH Grant Program to ensure appropriate implementation. Mr. Speaker, swift passage of S. 2371, as amended, will ensure that students and families will fully benefit from the programs, funding, and intent provided in the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. I urge my colleagues to support this provision. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I want to thank Chairman Miller for his leadership on this important issue which will keep costs down for our Nation's students, and I urge each Member to support this reauthorization. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mrs. McCARTHY of New York asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 2371) to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make technical corrections, as amended.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may insert material relevant to S. 2371 into the Record.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, on November 9, I was on jury call in my district and missed several votes. I would have voted had I been here: rollcall No. 1077, ordering the previous question on H. Res. 809, ``yea''; rollcall No. 1078, H. Res. 809, ``yea''; rollcall No. 1079, approving the Journal, ``yea''; rollcall No. 1080, motion to adjourn, ``nay''; rollcall No. 1081, H.R. 3996, Temporary Tax Relief Act, ``yea.''

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, it has been a great comfort to listen to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle talk about National Bible Week. The Bible can bring great comfort to all of us, especially in time of need. And when I look at the legislation that we have been trying to pass and legislation that is coming forward, I hope we can all remember the words of the Bible and take care of each other and not the almighty dollar. Mr. Speaker, next week is November 11th. We remember those who answered the call when America needed them most. Honoring our veterans reminds us that our freedoms come at a cost and with liberty comes responsibility. Congress has a responsibility to take care of the men and women who are serving and who have served. This year we passed legislation to increase the VA budget by $6.7 billion above last year's level. This is the largest single increase in veterans funding in the history of the VA. This increase will help better serve the health care needs of our veterans, both young and old, by providing over 1,000 new VA caseworkers to reduce the unacceptable delays in receiving their benefits. Our young veterans are coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan with new injuries. We have seen a dramatic rise in traumatic brain injuries due to IEDs and roadside bombs. As of January, over 2,000 of our brave men and women have been diagnosed with TBI. These veterans need a high level of intensive care when they return from battle. I understand the issues our soldiers who come home with TBI face. That is why I worked with Defense Subcommittee Chairman Murtha to include language in the Department of Defense authorization that sets aside funding and support for TBI treatment. We are in a new century and the members of our Armed Forces, our veterans and their loved ones, need a new GI Bill. A new GI Bill should increase funding for veterans' medical care; employment assistance for our homeless veterans throughout this country; increased pay for our active duty members, so they can actually have a family life; expand current benefits under the current Montgomery GI Bill. I am proud to be a cosponsor of H.R. 2702, the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act. This legislation provides education assistance for our young veterans returning home from the war under the Montgomery GI Bill. In addition to increased funding for a new GI Bill, there needs to be other substantive changes made to veterans care. There should be a guaranteed funding stream for veterans health care. Access to health care should improve and there should be increased funding for special VA programs such as posttraumatic stress disorder treatment, homelessness, long-term care. We must also address the problem called concurrent receipt. Currently other Federal retirees get both disability and retirement pay. But we deny our veterans this privilege because of an outdated law. Congress must authorize full payment of both retirement pay and disability compensation to more than hundreds of thousands of disabled veterans and military retirees. What we need to do is keep the promises we made to our veterans. I am hoping Congress in the coming days, months, and years will take care of these promises. We owe this to the American people. We owe it to our young people that sign up to fight the wars that we are fighting. If we don't keep our promises, why should our young people join to keep this country secure? I salute our veterans, thank them for their service, and say God bless America.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I would like to respond to some inaccurate information being spread on H.R. 2640, the NICS Improvement Amendments Act. As you know, Federal law prohibits nine groups of individuals from obtaining a firearm. One such group includes individuals who are determined to be mentally ill or who were committed to a mental institution. These determinations and commitments are made in accordance with the State law and always in accordance with due process. One purpose of H.R. 2640 is to ensure that information on these people make it into the Federal gun background check system. According to officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA officials make no determination or commitment regarding the legal mental health status of any of our veterans. However, some groups continue to believe that the VA is sending data to the NICS system on veterans who do not meet the disqualification of gun rights. To ensure our veterans are not losing their gun rights, I included several protective provisions in H.R. 2640. These provisions ensure two things. First, the VA will only provide records on veterans determined by the same procedures that apply to nonveterans in regards to mental health. Second, they require that the removal from NICS of a veteran's records that do not meet the law's standards. The intent and purpose of these sections is clear. NICS should only have information on veterans disqualified because they were legally determined to be mentally ill or involuntarily committed to a mental institution. The VA will not transfer information on veterans who just were treated for posttraumatic syndrome or who have a VA disability rating based on some mental health problem that does not reach the legal threshold of mental illness within the State. In addition, I recognize that mental illness is not necessarily a permanent impediment. Since the State made the initial determination of mental illness, that State should be able to remove that determination. H.R. 2640 contains a section to address this section. If a State elects to receive funds authorized by H.R. 2640, it must establish a procedure to review and, if appropriate, reverse mental health status. A veteran or any other individual will be able to apply to a State court, board, commission or any other lawful authority. That authority would review the person's situation. It is up to the State to set up and determine how the procedure will operate in accordance with due process. I expect that a State would use the same process that it uses to make the initial determination or commitment. H.R. 2640 does not change how a person is found to be disqualified from obtaining or possessing a gun. The language and procedures of the Gun Control Act of 1968 remain in effect. The bill does, however, insist that NICS receives only records on disqualified persons, whether a veteran or nonveteran. H.R. 2640 would also allow States to establish procedures that permit a person disqualified on the basis of legal mental illness to prove to the State that he or she no longer poses a danger to society. I believe that H.R. 2640 is fair and it is balanced. I am hoping the other body will soon approve the bill so that the States will be encouraged to provide information that improves the background check system on gun purchases. This was a bill that was worked out together here in the House. It had strong bipartisan support. If the bill had been placed when it was first passed in the year 2002, there is a possibility that Mr. Cho from Virginia Tech would not have been able to obtain a gun and commit the unfortunate murders that he did. Mr. Speaker, it is common sense that when you work with the NRA, and certainly those that consider me a fair person on reducing gun violence in this country, that we need to get the other body to pass this bill so we can save lives.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Clerk be authorized to make technical corrections in the engrossment of H.R. 3920, to include corrections in spelling, punctuation, section numbering and cross-referencing, and the insertion of appropriate headings.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Thank you for yielding. As we have heard today, the TAA program helps hardworking Americans transition to the global economy and adjust to economic changes resulting from the trade policy of the United States. Training and education play a major role in whether workers will have future success on the job. We have seen the dissatisfaction of the American people with the global economy. You have heard from many of my colleagues on how many people have lost jobs. Most of them are manufacturing jobs. A lot of these people that lose their jobs can be trained. I am happy to say that the Ways and Means Committee worked with me on making sure career and technical schools and colleges have the opportunity to be part of the TAA program. It is important for people to understand when someone is in their late fifties and they lose their job because of the global economy, that they have skills but they need to upgrade those skills for the world that we are seeing in the future. Technical and career colleges offer those particular uses. I am happy to say that the TAA bill that the Democrats have put forward are going to help our workers throughout this country, and with health care so that they can provide. Our workers are putting in more time than ever before. Our productivity is up. But, again, we have to keep pace with education. I am very happy to say that we are part of that educational system. This is a good bill. I rise against the Republican substitute because it doesn't fill the bill. We have waited too long to get this done.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, we have heard some points about bullying in our schools across America. Recently, the Girl Scouts of America had actually done a survey. In my home district, they asked their Girl Scouts and their Brownies on addressing bullying and asked if any of them had participated in it. They were actually shocked at how many of their girls, Girl Scouts, actually participated in bullying. I think that when we look at bullying today, it is an issue that teachers, parents, students themselves need to be educated on. With that, I am hoping that this resolution will go forward so people are aware. Bullying cannot be tolerated. It does hurt our young people. It certainly hurts their self-image. It is something that we need to face. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from New York (Mr. Kuhl) for his work in working on this bipartisan agreement. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to Congresswoman Linda Sanchez from California, who has been working on this issue for many, many years.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mrs. McCARTHY of New York asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 762) supporting the goals of National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may insert material relevant to H. Res. 472 into the Record.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 472) congratulating and commending the Wichita State University women's bowling team for winning the 2007 United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Bowling National Championship.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate the Wichita State University women's bowling team for winning the 2007 United States Bowling Congressional Intercollegiate Bowling National Championship. On April 21, 2007, the Wichita State University women's bowling team won the 2007 USBC Bowling National Championship Tournament by defeating Central Florida University in Wichita, Kansas. I also want to congratulate head coach Gordon Vadakin, women's coach Mark Lewis, assistant women's coach Kristal Scott, athletic director Jim Schaus, Wichita State University president Donald L. Beggs and the student athletes on an excellent season. After bowling eight events, the women's team played 362 games and knocked down 68,227 pins for an average score of 188.5 points. This was the eighth Intercollegiate Bowling National Championship for the Wichita State University women's bowling team and a record 31st appearance at the national tournament. The Shockers also had two juniors, Elysia Current and Emily Maier, named as First Team All- Americans, with Emily Maier being named to the All-Tournament team. Winning the 2007 USBC Bowling National Championship Tournament and winning their eighth national title has revealed its excellent athletic program at Wichita State University to the Nation. I know the fans, students, and alumni of the university will remember this moment for many years to come. Madam Speaker, once again I congratulate Wichita State University for their success. I reserve the balance of my time.