John Olver

Mr. OLVER

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time. Mr. Speaker, once again the majority of this House shows its true priorities. The resolution that is before us, the rule that governs debate on the fiscal year 2006 Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies bill, does not make in order my amendment that reflects important national public priorities. My amendment would have added an additional badly needed $2.092 billion to the bill. Of that $2 billion, $657 million was for Amtrak, bringing funding for our national passenger rail system to exactly the present year's level, thereby avoiding the shutdown of 18 passenger rail routes and the termination of all passenger rail service in 23 States. But rather than funding Amtrak to keep passenger rail service available, the majority decided that tax cuts for millionaires were more important. Of that $2 billion, $180 million was for tax law compliance. But rather than making a dent in the over $300 billion of taxes owed under the law that goes uncollected annually, tax cuts for the superwealthy were more important. Of that $2 billion, $143 million was for the Hope VI program for revitalization of severely distressed public housing. Over the past 10 years, Hope VI has replaced thousands of the worst housing units in urban communities all over the country. Rather than funding Hope VI, which is zeroed out in this bill, tax cuts averaging $140,000 for all persons reporting taxable income of more than $1 million were more important. Of that $2 billion, $250 million was for community development block grants, just to bring that appropriation up to the present year's appropriation, for a program that affects every State and virtually every community over 25,000 people in population, and a great many smaller communities as well. Again, tax cuts were more important for the superwealthy. Of that $2 billion, $800 million was to fund the Help America Vote Act, the HAVA Act, and that $800 million which would pay for the national voter registration file that is mandated under the HAVA Act by the first of January 2006 in time for the 2006 elections, this Congress owes that money to the States. It is an unfunded mandate that ought to be paid. The majority chose those $140,000 tax cuts for each and every millionaire in America. Ninety-five percent of Americans do not have that total amount of income for a whole family as would be the amount of the tax cut for the few very most fortunate people. Finally, Mr. Speaker, $62 million was for Youthbuild, a program which helps school dropouts gain construction skills and experience while building and rehabilitating housing. Rather than funding Youthbuild, which has been a proven success over 10 years and is requested by the President in his budget proposal, the majority once again believes helping the wealthiest Americans with huge tax cuts is more important. The cost of this amendment was fully offset by a slight 6.5 percent reduction in the tax benefits received by those persons who report an annual taxable income of $1 million or more. Instead of receiving an average tax break of $140,000, they would receive an average of only $131,000 instead. This small reduction in tax cuts for the most affluent Americans is a very small price to pay for the priorities included in my amendment, which was not allowed to even be debated under this rule. And we will not be able to debate it tomorrow. I do not blame the chairman of the subcommittee for the difficult choices in this bill. The President's budget was inadequate in these and other respects and left gaps that had to be filled. Under these circumstances, the chairman did his best to provide a fair allocation of the money within the amount assigned to the committee. Creative ways were found to plug some of the holes; however, many problems still remain because of the majority party's decision to make huge tax cuts for the wealthiest of Americans their number one priority, first and foremost, above all else, putting aside human needs, ignoring the largest yearly deficits in the history of our Nation, and the national debt that has gone up 50 percent in just the last 4 years. The majority party would rather help those that do not need it than those that do. My amendment would have corrected this imbalance, and I urge all my colleagues to put our national public priorities first and oppose this rule.

Mr. OLVER

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge a ``no'' vote on this rule. A little over 2 years ago, the President announced on that aircraft carrier off San Diego, ``mission accomplished'' in Iraq. Today, we must ask what really has been accomplished with the hundreds of billions of dollars that the United States has spent and will spend. Iraq is in chaos. 1,714 U.S. servicemembers have been killed and 12,855 wounded. In the first half of this month alone, 431 Iraqi citizens have died randomly at the hands of insurgents and terrorists. Multiple car bombings have become a daily occurrence in Baghdad and throughout Iraq. The elected government is struggling to gain control and cannot provide security for its citizens. Just 2 weeks ago, the New York Times and international news organizations reported our Marines' discovery of an enormous underground bunker near the city of Fallujah that was used by insurgents as a hideout and weapons cache. This bunker is the size of four football fields and sports dormitories, with full kitchen, showers, and sanitation facilities. This is just the largest example of the weapons caches patrols find every week. How can we call the mission a success when insurgents can operate so freely as to still utilize bunkers of this size? All of this simply underscores how spectacularly and tragically wrong our civilian leadership, from Secretary Rumsfeld right up through President, was when they rejected military commanders' advice that at least 300,000 troops would be needed on the ground to occupy and pacify Iraq. Mr. Speaker, as we discuss this bill, I urge my colleagues to think about whether our huge commitment, the thousands of young lives lost and the hundreds of billions of dollars spent, is being deployed effectively and wisely. It is very late in this Iraq tragedy. Congress needs to force the development of a workable strategy to achieve stability in Iraq and then bring our young men and women home. That was the subject of the distinguished minority leader's amendment which this rule denies. I urge a ``no'' vote.

Mr. OLVER

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time, and I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Chairman Wolf) and the gentleman from West Virginia (Ranking Member Mollohan) for all their work on this bill. I particularly commend them for rejecting the administration's proposal to create an umbrella community development program in Commerce, which would have greatly reduced the breadth and creativity of the community development programs as they currently operate. I appreciate my colleagues' efforts to restore funding for other vital programs within their wholly inadequate allocation. I especially thank them for restoring partial funding for the SBA's microloan program, which the President's budget eliminated. Through the microloan program, 170 intermediary lenders nationwide provide loans and technical assistance to our smallest businesses, many of which could not secure loans from more restrictive SBA programs or conventional banks. Since its creation 13 years ago, the microloan program has provided over 21,000 microloans totaling $250 million, which averages to fewer than $12,000 per loan. Yet, 60,000 jobs have been created at roughly $3,500 per job. One microlender in my district, the Western Massachusetts Enterprise Fund, has made 138 loans totaling $2.25 million. One hundred percent of the microloans were made to locally owned businesses, half of which were start-ups, and all received watchful technical assistance, which is why so few of these loans default. As we all know, small businesses are the backbone of the American economy, and I thank my colleagues for their support and urge them to work toward restoring the microloan program to last year's funding level.

Mr. OLVER

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the dedication of the Amherst Community History Mural at West Cemetery. The event marks the completion of a community-wide effort by the Amherst Historical Commission to raise funds and install a mural on the back wall of the Carriage Shops which abut historic West Cemetery in Amherst. West Cemetery is Amherst's oldest burying ground and was laid out in 1730 for settlers of the East District of Hadley. It is a true historical site that represents some of Amherst's original unchanged landscape, which today would still be recognizable to the early settlers who lie there next to their fellow farmers, mill workers, servants, soldiers, professors and poets. The Amherst Community History Mural addresses five aspects of Amherst's history: farming, literature, domestic life, education and the military, and industry and economic life. Notable figures portrayed in the mural standing on the balcony of the Amherst Hotel include Robert Gilbert ``Gil'' Roberts, a member of the New Black Eagle Jazz Band of Boston who also played with Louis Annstrong and Josephine Baker; Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone; Peter Merzbach, a 20th-century obstetrician; the Reverend David Parsons, Amherst's first minister; and Charley Thompson, a janitor and friend to Amherst College students during the 1800s. Again I congratulate Amherst, my home town, on creating this mural that honors and remembers the great history of our community.

Mr. OLVER

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mohammed Khan, Administrator of the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority, in recognition of his work in meeting the needs of transportation- disadvantaged individuals throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Today, the Secretary of Transportation will award Mr. Khan and the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority the 2005 United We Ride National Leadership Award from the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility. The Montachusett Regional Transit Authority is one of only five organizations nationwide that will be recognized this year for exemplary coordination of transportation services for older adults, people with disabilities, and individuals with lower incomes. Through Mr. Khan's leadership, the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority is specifically being recognized for their Brokerage Services Program, a service that contracts with approximately 160 private sector vendors to provide over 11,000 rides a day. It is not often that we are able to pay adequate tribute to our Nation's community leaders. Mr. Khan has been a strong force for progressive, efficient public service in the area of transportation. It is through Mr. Khan's humility, integrity and vision that many transportation-disadvantaged individuals receive quality, reliable transit services in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Mr. Khan has made outstanding contributions to his community and, is therefore, worthy of our thanks.

Mr. OLVER

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Mexico for yielding time. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 938, but I will confine my remarks to title I of the bill which would establish the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Let me start by thanking the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Johnson) for her persistence, her diligence, and her hard work on this legislation. It has been a pleasure working with her. During the 106th Congress, H.R. 4312 authorized the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a feasibility study of the Upper Housatonic as a potential national heritage area. The study establishes that the Upper Housatonic Valley meets the Interior Department's criteria for such a designation. The Park Service recognizes the valley as distinctive for having a landscape that includes a blend of industrial innovations, environmental conservation initiatives, and cultural achievements of national significance. The Upper Housatonic Valley includes 29 communities in western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut. I would like to highlight a few of the many contributions this region of New England brings to our national heritage. Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edith Wharton, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Norman Rockwell, Suzy Frelinghuesen are just a few of the prominent artists and writers who have made the Housatonic Valley their home and the subject of their work. Today, visitors can see these artists' work on display in local museums before taking in a classical music concert at Tanglewood or visiting the magnificently restored Shaker Village in Hancock. The Upper Housatonic has a rich cultural heritage and thriving artistic community to this day. Elizabeth Mumbet Freeman is a person my colleagues may not be familiar with today, but her role in our national history is rightfully recognized in the newly reopened National Archives exhibit, Charters of Freedom. A slave from Sheffield, Massachusetts, Mumbet sued in Massachusetts court for her freedom, leading to the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts in 1793. Many years later, the great civil rights leader, W.E.B. Dubois, made his home in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. His papers are archived and open to the public today in the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. As I hoped to highlight for you today, the Upper Housatonic Valley is an area rich in culture, history, and innovation against the backdrop of scenic landscapes. Its designation as a National Heritage Area will help preserve this treasure for years to come. I urge an ``aye'' vote in support of this legislation.

Mr. OLVER

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, for rollcall vote No. 141 on the Scott of Virginia amendment to H.R. 748, had I been present, I would have voted in the affirmative.

Mr. OLVER

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to S. 256.

Mr. OLVER

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the educational leadership of Dr. Shirley Jackson. As university president, Dr. Jackson has helped shape Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, RPI, into one of the premier technological universities in the world. A key aspect of Dr. Jackson's effort was the establishment of the ``Rensselaer Plan,'' a collaborative roadmap joining together faculty, staff, students and alumni in an effort to make RPI an academic mecca within the Northeast region. During her tenure, she has increased the level of educational services the university can provide students in part by securing a $360 million unrestricted gift to RPI, one of the largest single gifts ever given to an American university, and by doubling annual fundraising in the last 3 years. The influx of new financial resources during Dr. Jackson's tenure has spurred the new construction of state-of-the-art research facilities, including the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies and the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center. These construction projects have corresponded with increases in National Institute of Health, NIH, research funding from $400,000 in 1999 to $30 million in 2004. These increases have allowed the university to hire over 100 new faculty members and expand research activities. Students benefit from these first class facilities and improved student-to- faculty ratio while having the opportunity to be involved in cutting edge research. Again, I commend Dr. Shirley Jackson for her remarkable accomplishments in keeping RPI, my alma mater, a top-tier technological university.

Mr. OLVER

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of this legislation, and I thank the gentleman from Alaska (Chairman Young) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Ranking Member Oberstar), as well as the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri), the subcommittee chair, and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio), the ranking member, for their excellent work. Mr. Chairman, this legislation is critical to meeting the country's transportation infrastructure needs, but it also addresses a very serious problem that many of us who represent rural areas face, and that problem is the virtually total absence of broadband services in rural areas. There can be no question that the availability of high speed Internet access would assist rural communities across the country to attract new employers with technology-oriented high-wage job opportunities. The Rural Interstate Corridor Communications Study included in this legislation will examine how fiber optic cable and wireless technology can be deployed in rural areas to establish high-speed broadband service to spur economic development and to serve Intelligent Transportation Systems and homeland security applications. This important feasibility study is a step towards increasing the access to affordable high-speed Internet services in rural areas. The goal of the study is to provide assistance in attracting technology-based companies and information-age jobs to those rural communities. I applaud the gentleman from Alaska (Chairman Young), the gentleman from Minnesota (Ranking Member Oberstar) and, indeed, the whole committee for their foresight.

Mr. OLVER

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be an original co-sponsor of this resolution honoring the great civil rights leader and educator W.E.B. Du Bois, on the anniversary of his birthday. As he once explained ``I was born by a golden river and in the shadow of two great hills, five years after the Emancipation Proclamation, which began the freeing of American Negro Slaves''. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts on February 23, 1868, Du Bois lived a purposeful life until his death the day before the March on Washington. The site of his Great Barrington home, where Du Bois lived for his entire youth, is now a National Historic Landmark. The majority of his papers are archived and available to the public at the main library of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, also in my district. Western Massachusetts is proud to claim W.E.B. Du Bois as a native son. ``More than any resolution, it is by our actions that we can honor W.E.B. Du Bois' life and legacy. We honor his accomplishments as a civil rights leader, educator, and author when we invest in education and when we stand together against injustice and racism.

Mr. OLVER

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I wish to confirm what the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton) has already indicated, that the ranking member of the Committee on Commerce is in full support of this bill. The chairman has also indicated that the ranking member of the subcommittee, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown), is in full support of the legislation, and I think that indicates that the Committee on Commerce members on our side of the aisle are in support of the legislation, and I think our whole caucus would be very supportive of that legislation.

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. OLVER

Mr. OLVER. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I was not intending to speak but I am now, because I am not a poet and cannot really compete with my colleague from Alden, but I am now goaded into speaking out of respect for my predecessor Silvio O. Conte who has just been referenced by my esteemed colleague from Boston (Mr. Lynch). And so, Mr. Speaker, I am adding my congratulations to the Boston Red Sox for overcoming what many thought was impossible, namely, the toppling of the New York Yankees and ultimately overcoming the Curse of the Bambino. While our Nation is often described as polarized and divided, this Red Sox team managed to bridge these gaps and bring fans from all corners of the country into the Red Sox Nation. All the 2004 Boston Red Sox team will be remembered for their stars, Curt Schilling, Manny Ramirez, Pedro Martinez and David Ortiz, the real underlying message of this team is that the impossible can occur when people come together with the right attitude. In their march to the world championship, the Red Sox overcame obstacles not through individual triumphs but rather through team effort. Players who had been stars with other teams selflessly accepted lesser roles in the interest of the team. Such players could have easily sulked and pined for personal glory. Instead, they encouraged those who were participating and did their job when they were called upon. The triumph of the 2004 Boston Red Sox was twofold, physical and mental. While the Red Sox players, coaches and management would tell you they did not believe in curses, the fans and the media were convinced that there were forces at work far greater than those who give the curveball its break or cause a knuckleball to dance. Still, despite 86 years of expectations, capped by disappointments, this self-labored ``bunch of idiots'' managed to overcome preordained demise and ultimate collapse and they did it all with a goofy smile on their face, goofy styles in their hair and a love for the game that is a breath of fresh air in professional sports. The 2004 World Series run will always hold a special place in the heart of Red Sox fans in the New England region as a whole. Gone is the label of lovable loser and all the ``what if'' speculation in the papers and on the airwaves. For the first time in 86 years, the Red Sox Nation can breathe a deep sigh of relief this off- season and enjoy the fruits of the hometown team's labor. Gone are the columns speculating on the cause of their most recent demise, and in their place are columns about long-suffering fans able to rest knowing that they have seen in their lifetime what others in the past were not so lucky to see. Mr. Speaker, 2004 will be a year remembered for many reasons; and while some of those reasons may fade with the passing of time, I am sure that the citizens of the Red Sox Nation will keep a not-so-silent vigil to ensure that 2004 is remembered as the year an impossible dream became a reality, the hopes of the faithful and long suffering were met in full, and the season that was always going to be next year was finally this year.

Mr. OLVER

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this rule and to the underlying amendment. Mr. Speaker, soldiers and innocent civilians are dying every single day in Iraq, 45 million Americans are without health insurance, over 35 million Americans are living in poverty, and 8 million are unemployed and looking for work. Yet with only 10 days until recess, the leadership of this House wastes time on a constitutional amendment that does nothing to stop the deaths of our courageous young people in Iraq, nothing to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, nothing to address the health care crisis in this country, and nothing to create jobs for unemployed workers and our growing population. Instead, they bring forward a constitutional amendment which, if ratified, would enshrine discrimination in the United States Constitution, this country's most treasured document. Our Constitution has never been amended to discriminate against a particular group of Americans. Gay and lesbian Americans deserve the same rights, responsibilities, and protections as other citizens. This amendment would deny same-sex couples the right to make medical decisions for a sick spouse, to share health insurance, to collect Social Security death benefits, all rights that married couples take for granted. We all have family members or friends whose hopes and dreams this amendment would shatter, good people whose lives should not be used as an election-year tactic to distract attention from the incompetence of the Bush administration's planning for and the conduct of the dismal, dismal aftermath of President Bush's war on Iraq and to distract attention from 4 years of deteriorating fiscal stability here at home, with record yearly deficits, exploding national debt, and puny job growth. Mr. Speaker, we should reject this rule and this divisive, discriminatory amendment.

Mr. OLVER

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Chairman, may I ask how much time is remaining on each side?

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, this year's Transportation and Treasury bill was brought to the floor with great hopes. It had been improved substantially in subcommittee and again in full committee, and improvements have been made, indeed, on the floor of this body last week and yesterday and today. There were already some serious problems like the Amtrak problem, which we have talked about; the Federal Transit Administration's New Starts program, which we have talked about; and the Tax Law Enforcement program, which we talked about. Those problems remain there. And because of the reasons that my ranking member of the full committee has already given, we have had a situation where much of the bill has been struck by broad points of order, leaving us with very limited funding, no grants to the States and Federal highway-airport improvement grants; transit formula grants; the highway safety grants, gone. All of that is true. However, I am going to vote for the bill because the only way and the only place that this bill can be put back together and the serious problems fixed is in the conference. I believe that we are going to have to work very hard within that conference in order to make certain that those fundings and those problems are dealt with properly, but I am willing to work with the chairman to try to do that. I hope that we will be able to rectify enough of those problems in conference that we can produce a bill that will have strong, enthusiastic, bipartisan support. So I will vote for the bill.

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), the vice chair of my caucus. (Mr. CLYBURN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Chairman, it is time to get on with the implementation of NAFTA. To the gentleman from California, I say that my amendment makes absolutely no distinction between Mexican trucks, Canadian trucks or U.S. trucks. It says all of them, as does the rule that is in process say all trucks must meet U.S. safety standards. What my amendment does say is that we are not going to provide 24 more months after the 30 months that has already passed and the additional months that are going to pass before the actual promulgation and effective date of the rule. It does not provide an additional 24 months for those trucks, all trucks, to meet the same set of standards. I think that is absolutely neutral on the issue of whether they are Canadian, U.S. or Mexican. It is saying, get on with it, promulgate it. They had plenty of time to get their certificate, their label, whatever it is that they needed. They have known for a very long time. Let us get on with it. Support the amendment so that we can do so.

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield).

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Chairman, could you let me know again how much time each side has?

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson).

Mr. OLVER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 30 seconds. If the gentleman says that this is only about labeling, then they are still going to have to get that label. The issue is that they could have started getting that label 30 months ago, and it will be several months before the rule can be promulgated in which they can get the label. All I am saying is, promulgate the rule and let them get the label, and then they will be in fine shape. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio).