Jim McGovern

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to my friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier). All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I also ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 53.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 53 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I just want to repeat a fact that I had mentioned during my opening speech. One in 10 American homeowners with a mortgage were either a month or more behind on payments or in foreclosure at the end of September. Predictions in December were that more than eight million foreclosures would occur over the next 4 years if nothing is done, which is 16 percent of all U.S. mortgages. National foreclosure rates in November of 2008 were 28 percent higher than in November of 2007, with California suffering the highest foreclosure increase, up by 51 percent from the year before. This bill provides necessary provisions to perform oversight, impose restrictions, and require reports from financial institutions receiving funding, all of which was initially intended, but the Treasury failed to do. This bill also requires that a minimum amount be spent on mortgage foreclosure to help with mortgage foreclosure relief. The notion that we can do nothing in the face of this crisis is stunning. So I would urge my colleagues to read the bill that Chairman Frank has put forward. And whether or not you want to support the release of the additional TARP money or not, at least vote for this bill so you can guarantee that there are strings attached to it. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. McGOVERN. Let me finish my statement. That is what the product before us today is. And I should further state, Mr. Speaker, that we do have an urgent situation. I hear numerous people say that we have time to delay, delay, and delay. As we speak there are people in my district--and I would say, Mr. Dreier, there are probably people in your district who are about to lose their homes. People are looking for help, and we need to respond immediately. We do need to do so responsibly. So the days of delay and indifference are gone with a Democratic majority and a new Democratic President. We believe that President-elect Obama will do the things that we all think are important to do. The point of this legislation is to make it clear to him that we expect him to do that. And we would like the Senate to act. But as the gentleman from California has said many times to me over the years when I have raised the issue about action we have taken on the House floor when I believed the Senate would not take action, I would always be reminded that we should not be precluded from taking action on something just because what the other body may or may not do. I want the House of Representatives to lead on this issue. I want us to make it clear that we care about those people on Main Street who are losing their homes, we care about those small businesses that can't get credit. This is an urgent situation. I yield the gentleman 30 seconds.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Let me be clear that the rule that we're talking about right now and the bill that we're talking about is not whether or not we should release the second $350 billion. That's not what this is about. There is no funding attached to this bill. The final vote will be on how the money, if released, should be spent. There are some who want to use this as a political football, but I think that would be a mistake. We know that there is an immediate crisis, and we need to deal with that. And we also know that banks are not releasing the funding that they received from the original $350 billion. We know that homeowners aren't getting the help that they need. Now, I'm all for recapitalizing banks, but funds used to recapitalize banks should be used to help homeowners and to get the credit market moving again, not to raise stock prices or increase dividend payments for investors. Chairman Frank believes that $40 billion, a minimum of $40 billion, of the remaining funds should be used to address the foreclosure crisis, and I agree with him. It is critical that we provide a real roadmap on how this funding should be spent. The Congress will not be a rubber stamp of the executive branch, unlike the first 6 years of the Bush administration. We will work with the Obama administration. And I should say that the statement by the Obama administration, the statement by Larry Summers, is all very encouraging. It demonstrates a real appreciation of what average people are going through. But having said that, we will also express ourselves on important issues like the TARP. Mr. Speaker, people do not want to hear our words. They don't want us to feel their pain. They want us to take action. There is a real crisis in this country. People are losing their homes. And in the bill that Chairman Frank and his committee have crafted, there are substantial efforts in this bill that will reduce mortgage foreclosures. That is a big deal in my district. It is a big deal in the districts of every single Member in this Chamber. If somebody doesn't think that mortgage foreclosures are a problem, then I would suggest they go back to their districts because there's not a district in this country where this isn't a problem. And while we argue about, well, let's delay this some more, well, we'll do even more hearings than the hundred hearings that have already been done on this issue, well, let's attach some roadblocks so that nothing can ever happen, while we talk about all those things, people are losing there are homes. We were elected to help solve problems and fix things and make things better for people, for average people. And that is what this bill that Chairman Frank has crafted attempts to do. This is a good bill. This complements what President-elect Obama has said he wants to do. This will help fix things. And I will remind my colleagues that President Obama's view of the economic crisis is vastly different, thank God, from the view of President George Bush. So this is an important piece of legislation. It is important that Members of the House of Representatives have a say in how this money will be spent if it is approved. And I would urge people to vote ``yes'' on the previous question on the rule, and when the bill comes up, I will urge people to vote ``yes'' on the underlying bill.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Lee Van Voorhis, a World War II veteran living at the New Horizons facility in Marlborough, MA. Mr. Van Voorhis recently wrote an essay calling for the establishment of a Department of Peace. I was honored to visit with Mr. Van Voorhis on January 12. Below is a story about Mr. Van Voorhis from the Marlborough Enterprise, which includes a copy of his remarkable essay. World War II Vet Urges ``Secretary of Peace'' (By Mary Wenzel) Marlborough.--World War II was underway and a poster, hanging in the Montclair, N.J., Post Office, calling for 50,000 pilots, was meant to catch the attention of young men. And it did. ``As a teenager, flying a plane seemed like an exciting kind of thing to do,'' said Lee Van Voorhis, a senior at the local high school, who during his junior year had been an air raid warden for his neighborhood. Like many of the young men of his generation, Van Voorhis signed up for the flight training program and became a pilot for the B-25 medium bomber. ``It was the work horse of the Army Air Corps,'' said Van Voorhis who served from June 1943 to November 1945. ``My grandfather was in the Civil War, my father in World War I and I was in World War II,'' reminisced Van Voorhis who also saw a son serve in Vietnam. ``I remember very distinctly my father being very emotional about my going off to war,'' said Van Voorhis, ``because he thought that when they fought World War I, it was the war to end all wars, and he was so upset because he saw his son going off to a second World War.'' However, for this pilot, a Second Lieutenant, United States Army Air Corps, his service would be short lived. ``The war was winding down,'' he said, ``and there were surplus pilots.'' For Van Voorhis and many of his fellow servicemen, it was off to college on the GI Bill when he entered Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. ``When I was in college, my philosophy professor was dynamic, always asking us questions,'' explained Van Voorhis. In spite of a half century since he sat in that classroom, Van Voorhis remembers this professor pacing up and down and asking the students, half of whom were GIs, a question that they couldn't answer, ``What's the cause of war?'' ``You're GIs and you fought the greatest war the world has ever known and you don't know the cause,'' the professor said with great passion. ``It's a lack of communications,'' the professor stated answering his own question. ``What should you do when two countries are having problems getting along with each other? Send 100 ambassadors, send 10,000 ambassadors.'' Van Voorhis still remembers the final exam for this philosophy class and the blue book to be filled with the answer to only one question, ``What would you do when two countries are not getting along well and explain in detail.'' ``I had an hour to answer the question,'' said Van Voorhis. ``I poured sweat because I tried so hard to think of all the things that you could do following his (the professor) idea of communications.'' That was in 1948 and now in 2008, 60 years later, Van Voorhis has found a way to express himself in a way that he didn't know he had so many years ago. Nena Van Voorhis, Lee's wife of 61 years, signed up for a Creative Writing Class that had begun at New Horizons, off Hemenway Street, where the couple reside. ``I love this class. It keeps me writing and thinking,'' said Nena Van Voorhis, who urged her husband to join her. Reluctantly Lee Van Voorhis went to the class, taught by Gloria Goostray, and in a short time found the class to be an exciting thing. ``This class is fantastic. You realize you have a mind that's full of ideas,'' he explained. Van Voorhis had finally found a way of putting into words his thoughts about that question posed to him six decades ago. ``I have always loved the Robert Frost poem, ``The Road Not Taken,'' said Van Voorhis. ``We all pray for peace,'' explained Van Voorhis, ``but the road to peace, like I described here, you have to work at it. I mean a very specific effort as much as you have to work on your defenses.'' Nena and Lee Van Voorhis are the parents of four, three sons and one daughter, and the grandparents of 12. Following is an essay Van Voorhis wrote for the class that is included in a book called ``Writings from the Heart,'' a collection of short stories published by the 2007-2008 Creative Writing Class. The Road Not Taken (By Robert Frost) ``I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference.'' So it has been through human history the most traveled road has been the road to war. Every nation carefully records all its wars and usually marks them with various memorials, statues, and honors for all the veterans. The road less traveled leads to peace. This is desired by everyone worldwide. We all want to raise our children in peace. Going on the road to war is easy. My country is right and your country is doing something wrong or starting open conflict in some disputed area then the threatening words start escalating. Each side putting out aggressive words like ``you need to be punished'' or ``face sanctions'' or calling them ``an axis of evil.'' Our people hate you and you hate us. Now each country believes the other country is evil and we must settle our differences with war. ``The road less traveled by'' is the road to peace. This improves your communication with other countries, then we better understand the real root of each other's concerns and will be more compassionate and try to find common ground for peaceful solutions. Going on the road to war means we immediately start thinking of our military defenses and start cutting communications with the country we disagree with. Ping-pong games opened China for President Nixon. The N.Y. Philharmonic's visit to N. Korea gave us the opportunity to try to negotiate with N. Korea. As Robert Frost said about the road taken, ``I, I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference.'' We must think of every possible way to improve our communication with the countries we have problems with. How about such things as starting a worldwide Art Olympics in which there would be various themes either taking or on the road to peace with various categories for children and adults? To stimulate these ideas helping peace, how about a Secretary of Peace in our President's cabinet, charged with nothing but encouraging ideas and actions for peace. (The Secretary of State's job is charged with protecting American interests, and official dealings with foreign countries only.) As Robert Frost said about having taken the road less traveled ``and that has made all the difference.'' So let's go for the road less traveled--Peace will make all the difference.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I will vote in support of H. Res. 34, the Gaza Conflict Resolution. Certainly, everyone recognizes Israel's legitimate right to defend itself, the need for a ceasefire, and the demand that Hamas stop its rocket attacks against Israel, recognize the right of Israel to exist, and join the rest of the Palestinian people in negotiations with Israel to reach agreement on a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict and establish peace for all the peoples of the region. Earlier this month, I issued a statement outlining these same key concerns. However, I would like to clearly express my frustration and dissatisfaction with what has not been included in this resolution. I strongly believe the resolution should have included and expressed support for the concerns raised by the International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC and United Nations field staff on the ground inside Gaza about potential violations of international humanitarian law, IHL by both parties. I am particularly concerned about potential violations of IHL by Israel because I am such a strong supporter of Israel. I am also disappointed that the resolution did not reference the resolution passed by the U.N. Security Council on January 8, calling for an immediate ceasefire. While the UNSC resolution is flawed by its failure to condemn Hamas rocket attacks, it is an important call for a cessation of hostilities, which H. Res. 34 also demands. Finally, I am deeply saddened and disturbed by the increasing toll on Israeli and Gazan citizens as this most recent escalation in the conflict over Gaza continues. Military operations must stop; the rocket attacks must stop; and all regional and international actors must engage Hamas and Israel to agree to a durable and verifiable cessation of hostilities.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. I want to thank the gentlelady from New York, the distinguished Chair of the Rules Committee, for yielding me the time. First, let me congratulate Speaker Pelosi as she begins her second term as Speaker of the House. I also want to congratulate my colleagues for their elections, and I welcome our new colleagues to the House of Representatives. Our Nation is facing very challenging times. Twelve years ago, when I was first elected to Congress, our economy was still growing, and we were looking at a significant budget surplus. Our world was relatively peaceful. Now, after 8 years of reckless and wasteful spending, and after an ill-advised war, we face a global economic meltdown and international instability that seem to be spreading all too quickly. In November, the American people elected a new President and larger Democratic majorities in the Congress. The voters sent a very clear message. Things have got to change here in Washington, and Congress has to accomplish things. We know that Congress will need to act quickly and responsibly in order to pass legislation to help our Nation solve our economic and foreign policy problems. This rules package is designed to help us do just that. This is a good package, and I am pleased to support it today. There are many important parts this package. I am pleased that this is first rules package that is gender neutral. There are other technical fixes included in this package that will help the House operate more smoothly and efficiently. One of the major changes, as we have heard, in this package deals with the motion to recommit, which is modernized in this package. Specifically, the minority will no longer be able to offer a ``promptly'' motion to recommit, which sends bills back to committee with no timetable for return, essentially killing the bill. The minority, however, will have the ability to offer a proper ``forthwith'' motion or a ``straight'' motion. But no longer will the minority be able to abuse the process by offering political amendments designed to either kill a bill without actually voting against it or to provide fodder for a 30-second political ad. During the 12 years while Democrats were in the minority, we offered only 36 ``promptly'' motions to recommit. Over the past 2 years, Republicans offered 50 of these motions. Following the 2006 elections that brought Democrats back into the majority in the House, the new Republican minority had two options, either work in a bipartisan way to address the needs of the American people, or obstruct the business of this House through gotcha-style politics. Unfortunately, too often they chose the latter. The motion to recommit was not designed for this purpose. It was designed to be a tool for legislating, not a political weapon. Repeatedly, the Democratic majority attempted to work with the Republican minority on their motions to recommit, but every time we offered to accept their motion in return for not killing the bill, the Republican minority refused. They chose talking points over accomplishments. They chose to be the party of obstructionism, not offering alternatives, but instead trying to derail the entire process for political gain. It's a cynical way to do business. That's not legislating, and it's not what the voters sent us here to do. I strongly disagree with those who say modernizing the motion to recommit is undemocratic. Let me be clear, any Member who opposes a bill still has the ability, indeed, the responsibility, to vote ``no.'' Congressional scholar Norm Ornstein said it best, and I quote, ``A minority party deserves the right to be heard and to have alternatives considered, but with those rights comes responsibilities. If the minority uses the opportunity to offer amendments to exploit cynically the opening for political purposes--through `gotcha' amendments designed to offer 30-second attack ads against vulnerable majority lawmakers, or through poison pill alternatives designed only to scuttle a bill, not to offer a real alternative--it soon will lose its moral high ground for objecting to majority restriction on debate and amendments.'' Mr. Speaker, I finally would like to point out that in this package is included H. Res. 5, which is the reauthorization of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. The United States must reclaim its moral authority on human rights. I am honored to cochair that commission along with my good friend Frank Wolf of Virginia, and I look forward to working with him and our other Members to advance the cause of human rights around the world. Again, I want to thank the gentlelady from New York, our distinguished Chair of the Rules Committee, for the time.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, today I rise in honor of John A. Lepper who is retiring after serving 14 years in the Massachusetts Legislature as State Representative for the city of Attleboro. I am proud to know and to have worked with Representative Lepper and I salute his many contributions to the citizens of Attleboro and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Representative Lepper began his career of public service in the 1980s as a member of the city of Attleboro Planning Board. He was elected to the Attleboro City Council in 1987 where he served for 6 years. In 1995 he began his tenure as a member of the Massachusetts State Legislature and distinguished himself as a champion for children, families, and persons with disabilities. He is highly regarded for his work on a commission that championed the rights of grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. This issue is especially important to Mr. Lepper as he and his wife have devoted many years of their lives raising two of their grandchildren. In his retirement, Representative Lepper is looking forward to staying involved with local politics but plans to take some time to relax at first and do some fishing. Madam Speaker, I am certain that the entire House of Representatives joins me in congratulating State Representative John A. Lepper for all that he has accomplished and in wishing him the best in his retirement.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I have just returned from a remarkable trip to Ecuador. From November 8 through 13, I traveled through northern Ecuador looking at the refugee crisis on its border with Colombia and on the effects of oil contamination on the land and people of the Amazon basin. I saw firsthand the terrible human and environmental costs that have resulted from the decades-long failure to properly clean the contamination left by oil drilling and production. Specifically, the sites I visited were those that were under the control of Texaco, now Chevron. I visited oil pits that were poorly constructed, poorly remediated, or remediated not at all. This has left a toxic legacy for poor campesinos and indigenous peoples. I also saw the infrastructure that Chevron/Texaco created that allowed for the wholesale dumping of formation water and other highly toxic materials directly into the Amazon and its waters. As an American citizen, the degradation and contamination left behind in a poor part of the world by this U.S. company made me angry and ashamed. The drinking water for thousands of poor people is horribly unfit, even deadly. Children are drinking and bathing in water that reeks of oil. In one village, San Carlos, I couldn't come across a family that hasn't been touched by cancer. Mothers brought their children to show me the terrible rashes and sores that covered their bodies. A lawsuit has been filed against Chevron by 30,000 Amazon residents demanding that the company accept responsibility for substandard production practices and help with the clean-up efforts. Chevron, for its part, asserts it was released from responsibility in the 1990s, and the release remains in legal dispute. Neither Congress nor the United States Government should get involved in a legal matter that will soon be decided in a court of law. But as the years pass and nothing is done, the situation on the ground has become more and more desperate for thousands of poor people, and the pollution spreads deeper into the soil, the water, and the Amazon basin. I firmly believe these people and their environment need help and they need help now. As I traveled further north towards the border frontier, I found a growing humanitarian and security crisis. Eight years ago, the United States started pouring military aid--$4.8 billion of it--into Colombia, much of it focused on military operations in the violent coca growing zones just across the border from Ecuador. The result has been an alarming spillover of violence into Ecuador's peaceful but impoverished borderlands. Over 200,000 Colombians--a number rivaling many refugee crises in Africa--have fled to Ecuador to escape the violence and intense fighting between guerilla groups, the Colombian military, and Colombian paramilitary militias. As the GAO recently reported, harsh U.S. counter-drug strategies have failed to halt cocaine production in Colombia or ease the violence that comes with this illegal economy. Instead, organized crime has been pushed across the border into Ecuador. Mr. Speaker, I stood on the banks of the San Miguel River, which marks the border between Putumayo, Colombia, and Sucumbios, Ecuador. Only a few hundred yards of water separate the two. Mr. Speaker, Colombia's war is literally bleeding, violently, into Ecuador, which has no history of illegal drug cultivation or insurgency from its own people. Tensions between the two nations are high and diplomatic relations remain cut off. The refugee communities that I spoke with in Lago Agrio, Barranca Bermeja, and Puerto Mestanza feel abandoned and discriminated against. They long to return to Colombia even as they describe the terror that forced them to seek safe haven in Ecuador. They spoke of the need for community development projects but have no one to turn to to help them help bring their modest ideas into reality. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, is nearly the lone partner with the Ecuadorian government in dealing with the largest refugee crisis in the hemisphere, with some aid from the World Food Programme and the IOM. Where are the other NGOs and U.N. agencies that would normally be involved in a crisis of this magnitude? These crises are not of the making of the government of President Rafael Correa. Ecuador needs and deserves the support of the international community and Congress to address these challenges. They cannot be allowed to remain invisible. Mr. Speaker, I was deeply moved by my visit to Ecuador, and I will never forget the courageous people, Ecuadorians and Colombians, who told me their stories and asked for my help. They deserve to live a much better life. In the weeks ahead, I hope I can count on my House colleagues to help these communities in this effort. [From the Christian Science Monitor, June 24, 2008] Tackling Ecuador's Refugee Buildup Lago Agrio, Ecuador.--Less than a month ago, Rosalba Agredo Gonzalez was given only a few minutes to leave her house in Colombia. She was woken up in the middle of the night by armed men who threatened her and took away her neighbor. ``They told me they wouldn't do anything to me because of my children. Otherwise they would have killed me,'' she says. Agredo now lives with her elderly father and her three children in Lago Agrio, a small city in northern Ecuador, 15 miles from the Colombian border. They've made their temporary home alongside one wall of a small wooden house, with only a tin roof, concrete floor, and plastic sheets for walls. She doesn't have a job but sometimes prepares a local pastry at a neighbor's house which her eldest son sells on the street. Despite her precarious situation, she is happy to be in Ecuador. ``I don't want to go back to Colombia, even if I have to maintain myself by selling empanadas,'' she says. ``I feel very happy here because even if I don't own anything I know my children are safe.'' Agredo's story is not uncommon. Ecuador has more refugees than any other Latin American country--a consequence of the longstanding conflict in Colombia, which has received little international attention. Five to 10 refugees arrive in Ecuador every day, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), mainly, from two southern Colombian provinces bordering Ecuador, Putumayo and Narino. Given the buildup of refugees, the Ecuadorean government and a few humanitarian agencies are taking measures to provide asylum and assistance. But the challenges remain large. Of the estimated 180,000 who have entered Ecuador escaping violence, 16,500 have received a refugee visa and 22,000 are awaiting a response.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, yesterday morning a woman in my district shouted at me, ``Tell all those guys on Wall Street to''--how should I put this?--``take a long walk off a short pier.'' I can appreciate how she feels, Madam Speaker. I kind of feel the same way. I would very much like someone to pay a price, or to at least assume some responsibility for this economic mess before we do anything else. But while that might be good therapy, it's not good economic policy. Anger won't keep anybody in their house. Anger won't help anybody get a car loan or a student loan. Anger won't help small businesses get the credit they need to maintain inventory or pay their employees. Madam Speaker, the bill before us is far from perfect. I wanted stronger bankruptcy protection language. I wanted the economic stimulus package included in this bill. I wanted tougher language on banning golden parachutes for CEOs, and I wanted firmer pay-back provisions so taxpayers don't get stuck paying for any of this. And while some of the new tax provisions that the Senate added are good, most are not paid for, which troubles me very much, given the fact that we have the biggest debt in the history of our country. But the way I see it, we don't have much of a choice. The bill will, hopefully, help stabilize our economy. I can't guarantee that it will work, but I do know that killing this package today would be a serious mistake. The credit markets would further tighten, and the people that I represent, even those who want me to vote ``no,'' would be hurt very badly. It's hard to get anything done around here with a divided government. I'm hopeful that next year we can do some of the things that we are failing to do today. We need to enact a stimulus package that will invest in our infrastructure, schools and housing. We need health care for all. We need to revolutionize our energy system. We need to tackle hunger, poverty and homelessness. But I have come to the conclusion that none of that, none of those priorities will be possible if the financial system of this country collapses. So I will vote ``yes,'' and I would urge my colleagues to do the same. Finally, Madam Speaker, I want to pay tribute to my colleague from Massachusetts, Barney Frank, who I think has done an incredible job for championing the causes and the voices of middle class Americans and those who are struggling in poverty. All of us are grateful for his leadership.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the efforts of the administration, students, and faculty of the Franklin Public Schools in Franklin, Massachusetts for establishing Gallery 218. Gallery 218 was created by converting a storage room off of the high school's cafeteria into a pleasant and inviting space where exhibits of student artwork are proudly displayed. This gallery is open to the community to showcase how important a great art program is to a well- rounded education. The faculty who provide art education in Franklin are themselves great artists. I had the pleasure recently of visiting Gallery 218 where the current exhibit consists of works of art created by the faculty. I was extremely impressed with the quality and variety of artwork on display. Madam Speaker, I am certain that the entire House of Representatives joins me in congratulating the administration and faculty of the Franklin Public Schools for their exemplary efforts to promote the arts in their schools by establishing Gallery 218. I am including in the Record a recent article from the Milford Daily News about this terrific project. [From the Milford Daily News, Sept. 24, 2008] Art Teachers Lead by Example (By Heather McCarron) Franklin.--The old myth, ``Those who can, do, and those who can't, teach,'' has been proven completely false by the town schools' art faculty. Mike Caple, art director for the School Department, is joining other members of the K-12 art faculty this fall in an exhibit that proves ``these teachers can do.'' To open the second season of the schools'' new art space, Gallery 218, many of the 17 members of the art and visual media faculty will be displaying their work to the public through Nov. 7. An opening reception at the gallery, located at Franklin High, was held last Tuesday. In addition to being instructors, ``we are all practicing artists,'' said Caple, who teaches Advanced Placement studio art, photography and introductory courses. ``To be an effective visual instructor, you have to practice what you do.'' He said he and fellow teachers thought it would be a great way to start off the year at Gallery 218, which debuted last April, ``by showing what we can do.'' He thinks it's important, especially for students, to see ``one, that we are practicing artists and we go through the same process as they do. And, secondly, to show them what they can do.'' It's also important to connect with the greater community, Caple said, and demonstrate how meaningful a great art program is to a well-rounded education. ``We really want to show the value of that to the community,'' said Caple, whose main focus is photography. The teachers' work runs the gamut from abstract pieces done in acrylics and oils, to watercolors, sculpture, photography and film. Caple has included black-and-white images featuring his daughters, as well as a photographic digital collage that is an emotional exploration of the loss of his brother years ago in a car accident. ``I've photographed my family since high school,'' Caple said. ``Always black and white. It's just how I see it. I'm interested in the non-posed moments. I'm interested in capturing moments in between the poses.'' Video production teacher Nick Bailey's work in the exhibit includes ``The Director,'' his 15-minute thesis film ``about a kid trying to make a movie to impress people.'' Bailey thinks having the teachers show their work is a great idea. ``We've got a lot of talented artists that are teachers,'' he said. Lauren Jezierski, who teaches ceramics, sculpture and advanced 3-D, has mixed media pieces in the show. ``They're all self-portraits of different types, in different mediums. There's wood, there's acrylic paint, even sewing,'' she said, noting, ``I like kind of repeating the same subject, but in different ways, telling different stories.'' She thinks the show is not only a way for the community to see the instructors' talents, it's also a way for the artists to connect with, and inspire, each other. ``We don't get to see each other's work much,'' she said. Pam Ziegler, a graphic design teacher at the high school, contributed abstract watercolors developed from photographs she took in Italy, in addition to a ``found object sculpture'' about the process of creativity. ``I always say teachers should live what they teach. Otherwise, it's not really authentic,'' Ziegler said. Jane Hogan teaches the honors portfolio class and, besides a portrait and some abstract works, has contributed a handmade portfolio that, in part, explores her careers as a teacher and an artist. She describes herself as someone leading ``kind of a dual life of teaching and doing art.'' ``It's important as a teacher to also do your own work,'' she stressed. ``You stay fresh. Your creativity stays in use.'' Amy Radcliffe, who teaches painting, printmaking, portfolio, drawing and introductory art courses, has prints in the exhibit, made by running a painted metal plate through a press. She also is showing two paintings which are explorations of the same subject: An old, beat-up typewriter she found in the woods. ``I just thought it was a real interesting piece that must have had some history to it,'' Radcliffe explained. When she is teaching, Radcliffe said, ``I try to remind the kids that I'm an artist, too, and I've been through the same struggles.'' She said it's also fun to see her colleagues' work. ``It's a little more insight into their personalities and styles,'' Radcliffe said. Artist Emily Ortmann included an acrylic abstract painting in the show, and two pieces of hand-painted, sandblasted glass. Having grown up on Long Island--``Jackson Pollock land''-- she said, ``a lot of my influence is from abstract expressionists.'' ``There's so many different styles,'' she said of the faculty show. Zachary Breeze, who teaches computer-aided drafting at the high school, is a case-in-point. His piece, called ``The Pool Hall,'' is a 3-D image created using a computer. ``I use a program called Solid Works,'' he said. ``Basically, you create an object in the program and make it three dimensional.'' Remington Middle School art teacher Rosanne Gosch contributed two abstract pieces which, she said, are ``very different from anything I had ever made before,'' having been classically trained. As a teacher, she said, she usually shares work in the form of project examples and demonstrations. But the faculty art show, she said, ``is a little bit more personal, inviting the public, and not just our students, to have a peek into our private selves.'' ``I'm always very comfortable showing off other people's work, but a little protective of my own, so this is a good opportunity for me to just get over myself already,'' she said. Jefferson Elementary School art teacher Jennifer McCarthy created a still life in oil and a pastel from a class she took this summer on Cape Cod. What inspires her, she said, ``is the message we can send and portray with the images we create.'' Being able to share the work is key, and McCarthy loves that Franklin's art teachers and students have somewhere to do that. ``I think the gallery really sends a message that art is important, we appreciate its value and look at all the great work that is being produced by our teachers and by the students,'' she said.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a wonderful community institution in my district, the Central Community Branch of YMCA Greater Worcester. For 144 years, the Central Community Branch of the YMCA of Central Massachusetts has worked to improve the lives of families in the Worcester community. The branch was established in 1864 to ``improve the spiritual and mental condition of young men.'' The organization moved into its current Main Street home in Worcester in 1918, when the building was constructed. Since 1918, the building has undergone three major renovations in 1959, 1983, and 2008. Currently, the newly renovated Main Street facility provides thousands of youth and adults with health and fitness programs, a range of classes, and sports leagues. The branch also offers the Worcester community an incredible diversity of programs in education, health, and fitness. Its Minority Achievers Program helps tutor high school children and guide them on the path to college. Its ``Schools Out'' programs provide hundreds of youth with safe after-school education and recreation programs. Its summer camps in Sutton and Boylston provide families with wonderful summer programming. Its Kids on the Go program teaches children aged 8-14 how to lead a healthy lifestyle with exercise and a balanced diet. On Thursday, October 2, 2008, the Central Community Branch of YMCA of Central Massachusetts celebrates its successful completion of the ``Strength of the Team'' capital campaign and its renovations through a ribbon cutting ceremony. The organization has invested $5 million to improve the inner city beacon, allowing the community to be aware of its location. The renovation was driven by a successful capital campaign, which raised the largest gift to the branch in its entire history of $2.2 million from the George I. Alden trust. It also was the source of the largest individual gift of $500,000 from Gene DeFeudis. The wide support that this campaign received is tribute to the great work that the central branch does in the Greater Worcester community. Madam Speaker, I commend this wonderful organization that brings together people from all backgrounds, cultures and religions for the purpose of improving the mind, body and spirit of all. I congratulate the staff, members and supporters of the Central Community Branch of the YMCA of Central Massachusetts for their successful ``Strength of the Team'' capital campaign, and I know all of my colleagues join me in thanking them for their wonderful work.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I send to the desk a privileged concurrent resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the St. George's Hellenic Benefit Society of Tsamantas in Worcester, Massachusetts, for its generous contributions to communities both in the United States and Greece. The Society is a not-for-profit fraternal organization that seeks to promote and preserve Greek heritage and culture in America and is celebrating its centenary in October of 2008. For the past 100 years, the St. George's Society has helped friends and neighbors in Worcester, MA, and Tsamantas, Greece in a variety of ways. Some examples include building a school in the village of Tsamantas in the 1930s, offering financial support for a development workshop held at Tsamantas in September 2005 to help its declining economy, and funding scholarships for the grandchildren and great- grandchildren of the original immigrants in America. The St. George's Society is active in promoting education in the immigrant community through its generosity and involvement in the teaching of Greek Heritage, especially focusing on the contributions Greeks have made in the United States. The St. George's Society will celebrate its founding through a series of events and activities to be held on Sunday, October 11, 2008. The goal of these events is to recognize and honor the contributions made by Greek immigrants and Greek-Americans throughout the United States and the world. The first event will take place at the Worcester Art Museum and seeks to educate the greater Worcester community about the social and philanthropic contributions made, both in Europe and the United States, by Greek immigrants--including those who founded the Society. A commemorative symposium will then take place at St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church in Worcester to discuss history, and is meant especially to remind the children and grandchildren of immigrants about the importance of preserving their heritage and participating in community service. The third event of the day, an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary academic conference on immigration to be held at Hellenic College in Brookline, MA, aims to bring together specialists from a variety of disciplines to examine issues of identity and belonging, and the relationship between the past and the present in the context of cultural globalization. The conference will make a significant contribution to public understanding about the identity and culture of diasporic societies and inspire future research in this area. Madam Speaker, I commend this wonderful group for its dedication to the Worcester and international community in promoting education and giving financial aid to students, for supporting research and promoting public works. I congratulate the St. George's Society for the centennial celebration of its founding. I ask all of my colleagues join me in paying tribute to this fine example of community involvement.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. I ask the gentleman how many more speakers he has on his side?

Mr. McGOVERN. I yield 1 additional minute to the gentleman.

Mr. McGOVERN. I appreciate the gentleman's comments, but again I disagree with him. What I am talking about is investing in infrastructure to make our roads and our bridges safer, to create more jobs, to help stimulate this economy. So we have a very different approach. We need to do something. We are in a fiscal emergency. The President is asking for $700 billion, don't pay for it, $700 billion to bail out Wall Street, and what we are saying is, look, we have to do a little something for Main Street, in the area of infrastructure, education, health care. I don't think that is too much to ask. Yet this is a big deal to my friends on the Republican side, that we can't do this. It is too much. No, we can't do this. Everyday people don't deserve the same consideration that the President of the United States is now asking that we give to big companies on Wall Street. Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller), the chairman of the Education and Labor Committee.

Mr. McGOVERN. I would just remind the gentleman that on June 5, we brought to the House floor H.R. 3058, which would have reauthorized the very program he talked about, and he and Mr. Hastings both voted against it. Thank you very much.

Mr. McGOVERN. Why didn't the gentleman vote for it when he had a chance to?

Mr. McGOVERN. I yield the gentlelady an additional 1 minute.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I would just say that I think my friends on the Republican side just don't get it. This President, with their help, has driven this economy into a ditch. And we need to take the responsibility to get us out of that ditch. And that is what this stimulus package in part is about. People are hurting, not just people on Wall Street, but people on Main Street. People are hurting all over this country. People have lost their jobs. There are more people after 8 years of this President who are unemployed. There are more people who are hungry. There are more people without health care. I could go on and on and on. And our infrastructure is crumbling. This is an attempt to help those people. Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.