Carolyn McCarthy

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York

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

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, again I encourage my colleagues to pass H. Res. 298. And congratulations again and certainly may they have a great future. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes. I want to thank the ranking member, Mr. Platts from Pennsylvania. Working with him on the committee has certainly been a joy. We do work very well together. As the gentleman has said, passing H. Con. Res. 112 is extremely important. I stand by the words that my colleague has spoken. But I think that this Nation really has to start looking at how we prepare, certainly for the few future and for the global economy that we are all facing. Certainly having high-qualified teachers, day care workers to make sure that our children are getting the best education they possibly can at the earliest age possible. We look at the other countries and see what they are doing. I have to say that many times we are shortchanging our children. Madam Speaker, I am asking that our Members vote for H. Con. Res. 112. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, on May 1 of each year, child care providers and other early childhood professionals nationwide conduct awareness and education efforts highlighting the importance of good early childhood education for our Nation's young children. In support of these actions, I have introduced H. Con. Res. 112, a bipartisan resolution in support of National Child Care Worthy Wage Day. This resolution is an effort to support these initiatives and to help develop greater public awareness in this area. Every day, approximately 13 million children are cared for outside the home so that their parents can work, including some who work in our congressional offices. The committed individuals who nurture and teach these young children are undervalued, despite their important work. We know that children begin to learn at birth, and that the quality of care they receive will affect their language, development, math skills, behavior and general readiness for school. However, the inadequate level of wages for child care staff, roughly $18,000 a year, has led to difficulties in attracting and retaining high quality early childhood caretakers and educators. In addition to low wages, less than one-third of child care workers have health insurance, and even fewer have pensions. As a result, the turnover rate for child care providers is 30 percent a year. This high turnover rate interrupts consistent and stable relations that children need to have with their caregivers. Please join me in recognizing the important work of child care providers and support the efforts to provide them with a worthy wage. The Nation's child care workforce and the families that depend on them deserve our support. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 112) supporting the goals and ideas of a National Child Care Worthy Wage Day.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may insert material relevant to H. Con. Res. 112 into the Record.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much 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

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hare).

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to my colleague, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Wu).

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I yield 8 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Miller), the sponsor of this resolution.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. We have one more speaker.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from North Carolina (Mr. Miller) for introducing this resolution and for the work he has done. This month is recognized as National Community College Month. Community colleges represent much of what is great about America. Diverse, dynamic and innovative, open and inclusive, they are one of America's greatest inventions. The first community college, Joliet Junior College, opened its doors almost 100 years ago in Illinois. It was one of the many that sprung up in the early 20th century amid worries that America could not remain competitive without a better educated workforce. Policymakers and educators sensed that one of the barriers keeping students from keeping their education was that they were unable or unwilling to leave home. And so a network of community colleges was set up to encourage more students to earn college degrees or obtain specialized training. Today, over 11 million students are enrolled in America's 1,200 community colleges. Community colleges educate over half of the country's undergraduate students. Community college open enrollment policies mean that they welcome all students regardless of wealth, heritage, or previous academic experience. As a result, community colleges are more diverse in terms of age, income, race and ethnicity than traditional colleges and universities. They enroll students from all over the world. About 40 percent of all international undergraduates in the United States attend our community colleges. By bringing people from all walks of life together to learn from one another, these schools enrich and enhance our communities. Community colleges educate over half of the new nurses and 65 percent of new health care workers. They are also responsible for the education of 50 percent of teachers and close to 85 percent of our emergency responders. Community colleges retrain workers who have lost their jobs, those looking to change fields mid-career or reenter the workforce after an extended absence, and high school students hoping to get a head start on college credit or take a course not offered in the regular curriculum. Because of all that they have done for this country, on this day we would like to thank our Nation's community colleges and recognize the dedication of their facilities and staff for helping to educate our Nation's students. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam 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. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 334) supporting the goals and ideals of National Community College Month.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may insert materials relevant to H. Res. 334 into the Record.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Thank you for yielding. I want to thank my good colleague, Deborah Pryce, for working on this bill and introducing the bill. I want to certainly thank my colleague on the Education Committee, Representative Clarke from New York, also, for managing the bill. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.Resolution 292. It is important for our schoolchildren to learn outside the classroom. I am personally a gardener, and I hope that someday I'm actually going to become a master gardener. I also know that bringing my grandchildren into the garden and showing them, number one, how to grow things, and also the whole life of bugs, I know a lot of people might get a little squeamish about that, but to learn the science and to watch a praying mantis and to watch how they live and how the birds and the gardens work together, it is teaching our young children the wonders of the world. It also gets them interested in science. This world is a very complex place. It is also extremely good for your mental health. I know that certainly with this job here, and all the years that I worked as a nurse, the first thing I went to was my garden when I got home. Just to put your hands in the soil, it gives you an immediate release of the tension that you might feel. So it is an activity that we are seeing more and more young people getting involved in. I am happy to say that many of my schools on Long Island have gardens going around the school, number one, to beautify it, but also to teach the children how important gardening is. And growing vegetables. We find that children that grow their own vegetables actually enjoy eating vegetables a little bit more. I certainly want my colleagues to vote for this. It is a good bill, and it is a good awareness for our young people.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I was not present for several votes on April 17. I would have voted: Rollcall No. 216 on H. Con. Res. 100, condemning actions of the Government of Zimbabwe, I would have voted ``yea.'' Rollcall No. 217 on H. Res. 273, Financial Literacy Month, I would have voted ``yea.'' Rollcall No. 218 on H. Con. Res. 76, International Geophysical Year, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 293 honoring volunteer service and thank Representative Shea- Porter for introducing this bill. As Chairwoman of the Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee, I wanted to highlight this extremely important issue which is why the first hearing the HFC Subcommittee held was on national service. This is a bipartisan issue, and I am looking forward to working with Ranking Member Platts to move ahead on reauthorizing the service bill. National service has a distinguished and strong history in our Nation. Our roots in service extend back to the first pioneers, when colonists had to ban together to overcome the challenges of surviving and adjusting to a new land. Evidence shows that service and volunteering lowers dropout rates among teens, lowers crime rates in communities with high rates of volunteerism, lowers costs associated with the aging population and improves the health and lowers the rates of depression among the elderly. Volunteering is a cost effective way of meeting our Nation's social needs both from the standpoint of the volunteers and the people who benefit from the services. In my home state of New York, more than 76,000 people of all ages and backgrounds are helping to meet local needs and strengthen communities. There are 239 national service programs in New York alone. In my district we have more than 1,300 service volunteers, and we have almost 3,000 students age K-12 that participate in the Learn and Serve programs. I truly believe that expanding national service, particularly to disadvantaged youth, is an effective way to combat things like youth gangs and violence, and the evidence bears that out. And it is critical that we begin teaching about participation and service at an early age. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank Congresswoman Shea-Porter for her hard work to in introducing this resolution. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank Chairman Skelton for his leadership on this issue, as well as the ranking member, Mr. Hunter. If you look back at what happened at Walter Reed, and it is on the outside of the care, not the inside care of the hospital that we are talking about, the Wounded Warriors Act certainly is a good first step. One of the things that I want to address, I want to say thank you to Chairman Murtha for the commitment he has made to our military as far as making sure the money is in there so that we can implement what we need to do. As we all know, head trauma has become the focus of a lot of these veterans that are coming home. With the IEDs in Iraq, traumatic brain injury has become the signature wound of this conflict. Our soldiers receive outstanding acute medical care; but people have to understand, it used to be thought that after 6 months of treatment, someone with a head injury would be fine and they would just kind of let them go. That is not true. Back in 1993, my son was shot in the head and he certainly sustained very traumatic head injury. It takes a long time, and we know that we can give treatment for years after. It is 13 years since my son's head treatment, and he is still receiving therapy. So this is a good first start, and I hope we continue with it.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend the Adelphi New York Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline & Support Program (``the Program''). The Program, established 27 years ago at the Adelphi University School of Social Work, was one of the first breast cancer programs in the country. This highly respected and valued program has developed important services that have been replicated throughout the U.S., and volunteers have been crucial to the services provided. On April 19, 2007, the Program volunteers who have given women a place to turn when faced with breast cancer will be recognized. The dedicated volunteers and staff of the Program offer crucial information and emotional support to people throughout New York who are coping with breast cancer. Almost all the 100 volunteers have had breast cancer. They know the fear and confusion that comes with the discovery of a breast lump or the diagnosis of breast cancer. Because they have ``been there,'' they immediately provide hope and much more to callers. These highly trained and well-supervised volunteers direct callers to the latest information, sending pamphlets and other resources when needed. They let them know what services are available in their communities. And they are a ``shoulder to lean on'' for callers. They are there to listen and to help and get people through difficult times. My office has used the program many times when constituents have come to me looking for help for themselves or their family members. I have been able to refer them to the Adelphi Program knowing that they will be handled with care and concern and given the best possible assistance. In the Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee, of which I am the Chairwoman, we have explored the need for volunteers and I understand how critical volunteerism is to this Nation. I thank the Program and its volunteers for their work.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize David Israel on the occasion of his retirement from teaching. For over 40 years Mr. Israel has served the East Williston School District with passion and commitment. With a degree in English, Mr. Israel graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, and later received his masters in education from Harvard Graduate School. In 1965 he went to work as an English teacher at the Wheatley School, part of East Williston Union Free School District. David Israel has been a brilliant asset to his community, to local teachers, to statewide legislators, and to the students he has taught. He became president of the East Williston Teachers' Association in 1980, a position which he holds to this day. Throughout his tenure, he has co-founded the East Williston Teacher's Association Scholarship Foundation, which awards a 4-year scholarship each year to a worthy Wheatley School graduate who intends to become a schoolteacher. Recently he has been elected to the New York State United Teachers as a representative of District 19, comprising the northwestern portion of Nassau County. Not only has Mr. Israel been a valuable member of his community, but he has been a great friend to myself and my staff with his guidance and advice. The future of this country depends on the hopes and dreams of its children, and our community and our Nation are enhanced by the contributions of passionate and committed teachers like David Israel.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, today, I will vote in favor of H.R. 1591, the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act of 2007 to fully fund our troops and end the war in Iraq. This legislation will fully fund the troops serving in Iraq. It is imperative that they have the necessary equipment to conduct their mission as safely and swiftly as possible. Today's vote marks a major shift in the strategy for Iraq by imposing real responsibility on the Iraqi government. President Bush outlined several benchmarks for the Iraqi government in his January 10 address. Unfortunately, there were no real consequences for the Iraqi government if these benchmarks were not met. Today's vote put real pressure on Prime Minister Maliki and the Iraqi government to meet these benchmarks. If the Iraqis do not step up and take control of their own security, U.S. forces will begin a phased redeployment as early as July 1, 2007. All U.S. troops must begin their redeployment by March 1, 2008, by which time, the Iraqis will have had ample opportunity to be trained and take control of their situation. The U.S. cannot remain in Iraq indefinitely. During the past 4 years, the U.S. has suffered over 3,000 casualties and countless injuries attempting to curb the violence in Iraq. The time has come for the Iraqis to stand up and make a real investment in the security and future of their nation. I will continue to support our troops and ensure they are trained and properly equipped for battle. But the course in Iraq must be changed, and that change has begun today.

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York

Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Will the gentleman yield?