Frank Pallone

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Gopal Raju, a visionary who bridged the American and Indian communities through journalism and activism. Mr. Raju arrived in America from India in 1950. He sought to connect the Indian-American community with India. Mr. Raju launched the news weekly, India Abroad in 1970. He served as publisher for 31 years. Mr. Raju's journalistic reach spread to other media endeavors including Desi Talk, Gujarat Times, and News India-Times. Mr. Raju was active in philanthropic work for his home country. He started the Indian American Foundation to accelerate social and economic change in India. The foundation works to increase access to education, health care, and employment opportunities for Indians in India. Throughout Mr. Raju's life he sought to empower the Indian-American community. He founded the Indian American Center for Political Awareness (IACPA) in 1993. Mr. Raju built this organization to encourage participation in the political process. The IACPA developed the Washington Leadership Program, which gave university students the opportunity to intern on Capitol Hill and develop a broader understanding of public policy. Madam Speaker, I sincerely hope that my colleagues will join me in celebrating the life of Gopal Raju. His legacy will continue to enrich the lives of many.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Amit Zutshi, who passed away on March 19, 2008 at the age of thirty. This young man enriched the many lives he touched. Mr. Zutshi thrived as a student at the Mission San Jose High School in Fremont, California. After receiving degrees in Information Technology and Business, he earned an MBA from University of Phoenix. Mr. Zutshi worked for Microsoft and later worked with an e Commerce company in Santa Clara, California. He embodied the best of his generation. He felt it essential to help others. To honor Mr. Zutshi's legacy, his family is starting the Amit Zutshi Foundation to provide opportunities for disadvantaged children. Madam Speaker, I sincerely hope that my colleagues will join me in celebrating the life of Amit Zutshi.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, the economic recession has been particularly hard on lower- and middle-income families. But over the last month, this House has passed important legislation that will make a real difference in their lives. These families were already having trouble squeezing enough money out of their monthly paychecks to pay for the basic necessities. Now imagine how much more difficult that is with the dramatic increases in the cost of foods like bread, milk and eggs. Last week, in strong bipartisan fashion, this House passed a final farm bill that invests an additional $10.4 billion in nutrition programs so that 38 million American families do not have to go hungry. Our constituents are also rightfully concerned about their jobs. Over the last 4 months alone, 260,000 jobs have been lost. Finding a new job is not necessarily easy in today's economy. That is why this House passed an extension of unemployment benefits last week, giving unemployed workers an additional 13 weeks to find a job. Mr. Speaker, this Democratic House is delivering results that will benefit families that have been forgotten for far too long.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, over the last couple of weeks, this House has passed important legislation that is going to provide some much needed relief to hardworking families who are being squeezed by high gas prices, high grocery bills, and a housing crisis that many economists believe has not yet hit rock bottom. Last week, Congress took decisive action to bring down the price of gas by passing legislation to suspend the filling of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through the end of the year. After initially opposing the proposal, the President announced last Friday that he would comply. The House also overwhelmingly supported a farm bill conference report that invests $10 billion more in nutrition programs that will help 38 million Americans afford healthy food. And earlier this month, we passed housing legislation that stabilizes the housing market and makes a real difference for families at risk of losing their homes. Mr. Speaker, this month, the House has passed significant legislation that will help all Americans and will basically address the economic downturn. I would hope the President would also support these important initiatives.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, as the first quarter of 2008 ended, it was clear that things are not getting any better for American families struggling to make ends meet. Americans continue to face higher costs for basic necessities, millions of families have lost their homes due to the troubled real estate market, and several million more Americans are uninsured. Last week, we also learned that April was the fourth month in a row that our economy lost jobs. With 20,000 jobs lost last month, our economy has now shed 260,000 jobs so far this year. That's particularly troublesome considering that experts say the economy must create 150,000 jobs a month just to keep up with the number of Americans entering the job market. All of these red flags show why it is so important that we worked together in a bipartisan fashion earlier this year to pass the economic stimulus package. As a result of that action, 150 million taxpayers began receiving rebate checks last week. That was a good start, but more needs to be done. Madam Speaker, with so many Americans struggling and the bad economic news continuing to mount, we urge the President and the Republicans to join us to pass a second economic stimulus package.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 93rd anniversary of the Armenian genocide. As the first genocide of the 20th century, it is morally imperative that we remember this atrocity and collectively demand reaffirmation of this crime against humanity. In 1915, Henry Morgenthau, America's ambassador stationed in Istanbul described a ``systematic attempt to uproot peaceful Armenian populations.'' He warned Washington of the government's plan to ``crush the Armenian race.'' After these warnings from Morgenthau, the U.S. Government took action and responded to the Armenian genocide. During a time when hundreds of thousands were left orphaned and starving, a time when a nation was on the verge of complete extermination, the United States took the lead and proudly helped end these atrocities. In fact, Americans helped launch an unprecedented U.S. diplomatic, political and humanitarian campaign to end the carnage and protect the survivors. Yet, 93 years later, the United States has not officially recognized the Armenian genocide. We owe it to the Armenian-American community, to the 1.5 million that were massacred in the genocide and to its own history--to reaffirm what is fact. Last October, the Foreign Affairs Committee passed the Armenian Genocide Resolution, giving full recognition to the genocide, but, since then, the bill has stalled due to the deep pocketed and well oiled Turkish lobby. By not recognizing the Armenian genocide for what it was, the government sponsored, systematic killing of a people, we fall prey to the Turkish government's threats. At the expense of truth, we buckle to Turkey out of geo-political convenience. Refusing to recognize the Armenian genocide only erodes our international reputation as human rights leaders. By remaining silent, we encourage Turkey to continue denial. While we look the other way, the Turkish government continues to prosecute those who speak out about the Armenian genocide in Turkey. This cannot continue. We must stop pandering to Turkish government. Fortunately, there are citizens of Turkey who refuse to deny the facts of the Armenian genocide. The Human Rights Association of Istanbul opposes the government muzzle. They recognize that state denial is the continuation of genocide, depriving the decedents of the Armenians the right to mourn their loved ones. We cannot let denial continue. By doing so, we show the international community that not only is genocide accepted, but that we are indifferent. Recognizing the Armenian genocide is crucial to helping end the cycle of genocide that has continued to plague civilization. If no one is held accountable, if America and the International community fail to act, then we allow these atrocities to continue. A large majority of our colleagues want to support this resolution. Members want to reaffirm the United States' record on the Armenian genocide. Unfortunately, the strong Turkish lobby is making it difficult for this House to take a firm stance for the truth. Recognizing the Armenian genocide will bring closure to a people and send the message that crimes against humanity cannot be silenced.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, with bleak news about the economy continuing to mount, it is no surprise that 25 percent of Americans say their economic situation has not improved in the last 5 years, and 31 percent say they have fallen backward. These represent the highest numbers for the Pew Research Center survey since the question was first asked in 1964. Economic uncertainty within the middle class is a result of President Bush's economic policies. For 6 years, Republicans have offered tax cuts to the wealthy, refused to close corporate tax loopholes, and even defended multi-billion dollar tax subsidies for big oil companies. House Democrats reject an economic policy that showers billions of dollars on unnecessary tax breaks to corporate interests and to millionaires, while middle-class families are ignored. This year's Democratic budget makes middle class tax relief a priority by calling for the extension of middle-income tax cuts, such as the child tax credit and marriage penalty relief. Democrats have also been working hard to close corporate tax loopholes and end costly waste, fraud and abuse. Madam Speaker, Democrats are fighting to put the Tax Code back on the side of the working family.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, yesterday I was away from Washington attending to personal matters and missed several votes. I would have voted ``yes'' on H.R. 5036, the Emergency Assistance for Secure Elections Act of 2008, ``no'' on the Motion to Recommit H.R. 5719, ``yes'' on H.R. 5719, the Taxpayer Assistance and Simplification Act of 2008, and ``yes'' on H.R. 5517, designating a post office in Humble, Texas.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. I thank the subcommittee Chair, the gentlewoman from Texas. Let me say I appreciate the bipartisan support that this legislation has, and certainly the efforts, not only of Mr. Tim Bishop of New York, but of our chairman of the full committee, Mr. Oberstar, and the subcommittee Chair, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson, for moving this legislation today. Madam Chairman, our Nation's beaches are vital, not only to residents of our coastal States, but also for countless visitors who come to visit each year. America's beaches are a tremendous resource for those who come to enjoy them, and they are a huge economic engine for our coastal States. In New Jersey alone, beaches are the primary driver of a tourism economy that provides nearly 500,000 jobs and generates nearly $36 billion in economic activities to the State each year. All summer long thousands of people flock to the beaches. It's my intention to assure that these beachgoers that are there in New Jersey and elsewhere, that not only are they visiting clean beaches, but they are also swimming in safe waters. Thanks to the BEACH Act, a law that I helped to author back in 2000, we have made major strides over the last 8 years. The BEACH Act of 2000 helped us improve water quality testing and monitoring of beaches across the country, which is critical to protecting the health of beachgoers. The act has three provisions: one, requiring States to adopt certain EPA water quality criteria to protect beachgoers from getting sick; two, requiring the EPA to update these water quality criteria with new science and technologies to provide better, faster water testing; and, third, to provide grants to States to implement coastal water monitoring programs. In New Jersey we used some of this grant money to become the first State in the Nation to launch a real-time Web site that notifies beachgoers of the state of our beaches. Essentially, this bill is a right-to-know piece of legislation. Now, despite the actions New Jersey and other States have taken since the BEACH Act was signed earlier in the year 2000, this act must be improved. That's why I have introduced the Beach Protection Act of 2007. This bill not only reauthorizes the grants to States for 2012 but adds to the annual grant levels from a total of $30 million to a new level of $40 million annually. We also expand the scope of BEACH Act grants from water quality monitoring and notification to also include pollution source tracking efforts. The bill requires that beach water quality violations are disclosed not only to the public but all relevant State agencies with beach water quality authority. I want to mention the rapid testing methods. This act calls for the use of rapid testing methods by requiring the EPA to approve the use of rapid testing methods that detect bathing water contamination in 6 hours or less. This is something that I have been advocating for the last couple of years. Current water quality tests, like those used in New Jersey, only test for bacteria levels and take 24 to 48 hours to produce reliable results, during which time many beachgoers can be unknowingly exposed to harmful pathogens. More immediate results would prevent beaches from remaining open when high levels of bacteria are found. The legislation also requires prompt communication with State environmental agencies by stating that all BEACH Act grant recipients make decisions about closures or advisories within 24 hours in order to ensure coordination in response to activities. We are also requiring each State receiving grants to implement measures for tracking and IDing sources of pollution, creating a public online database for each beach with relevant pollution closure information posted, and ensuring the closures or advisories are issued shortly after the State finding that coastal waters are out of compliance, so, again, right to know, information to the public. We are also holding States accountable by requiring the EPA administrator to do annual reviews of grantees' compliance with BEACH Act process requirements. The Beach Protection Act will strengthen current law by requiring States to use expedited testing. This is a right to know for our beachgoers. It's very important, and I want to thank everyone on a bipartisan basis for supporting it.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

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

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, last Friday President Bush traveled to my home county in New Jersey to encourage residents to seek free credit counseling if they faced the threat of losing their homes. And while the credit counseling is good advice, the President's actions were simply too little and too late. For months, the President has known that the housing and subprime mortgage crisis could force more than 2 million people to lose their homes over the next 5 years. Until yesterday, the President was unwilling to address this crisis in any way. And that is nothing new. For 7 years now, the Bush administration has taken a hands-off approach to Wall Street, allowing the corporations responsible for much of this mortgage crisis to work under the radar without any government oversight or regulation. Finally, the administration recognized yesterday that the President's credit counseling advice was not going to be enough. Treasury Secretary Paulson announced a proposal that finally calls for the regulation of these financial institutes. But, again, this is too little and too late. Madam Speaker, this House has already acted and will continue to pass legislation that will help homeowners today, and I would hope the President would support our efforts.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Askouhy Jallyan- Vassilian and her dedication to her community and the Armenian people. Mrs. Jallyan-Vassilian was a survivor of the genocide inflicted upon the Armenian people. She was the embodiment of the enduring human spirit. Mrs. Jallyan-Vassilian was born Askouhy Jallyan on February 12, 1914, in Orfa, Turkey. Her mother, Khanem, had married in 1913 and was 18 years old when she gave birth to her only daughter. Khanem was widowed in 1915 when her husband, Nazaret, was murdered. Mrs. Jallyan-Vassilian was able to flee the horrors of genocide when she escaped with her mother to neighboring Syria. Later, Mrs. Jallyan-Vassilian married her husband Missak Vassilian at the age of 19. Together they raised three sons and a daughter. She was also the proud grandmother of 10 grandchildren and 12 great- grandchildren. Her son, Asbed Vassilian, is currently a professor of chemistry at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and is the head of that school's Armenian studies program. On October 10, 2007, Mrs. Jallyan-Vassilian attended a markup session of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs as it worked on a resolution recognizing the deplorable deprivation of human rights that occurred during the Armenian genocide. She had waited 92 years for the United States Congress to recognize the genocide and suffering that her people had endured at the hands of hate and intolerance. Mrs. Jallyan-Vassilian passed away on February 27, 2008. She will be remembered for her devotion to her Armenian heritage and her commitment to the cause of those Armenians who suffered wanton violence and cruelty. Madam Speaker, I sincerely hope that my colleagues will join me in celebrating the life of Askouhy Jallyan-Vassilian. Her legacy will continue to serve as a reminder of the audacity of human resilience.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Lawrence S. Sykoff's lasting contributions and dedication to education. After 15 years as Head of Ranney School, Dr. Sykoff has transformed Ranney into one of the premier independent schools in New Jersey. Dr. Sykoff has been committed to the field of education for 35 years. Before accepting his position at Ranney, Dr. Sykoff served as Head of the Birch Wathen Lenox School in New York, and as a math teacher at the La Jolla Country Day School. He is nationally acclaimed for his studies in Middle School education and curriculum development, and his work on the education of pre- and early adolescent children has been used as a model in schools across the country. At Ranney, Dr. Sykoff has successfully launched an impressive campaign to expand the school and enhance the education of its students by increasing enrollment, building new facilities, and broadening the scope of Ranney's technological capabilities. Under Dr. Sykoff's leadership, Ranney continues to maintain a strong relationship with its neighborhood and Monmouth County by supporting the Tinton Falls Police Youth Academy and the Tinton Falls City Council. Currently Dr. Sykoff is very active in the community. He sits on the Board of Trustees of the American Cancer Society and the historic Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ. He is also a past member of the Board of the Monmouth County Family and Children's Service. Madam Speaker, I sincerely hope that my colleagues will join me in celebrating Lawrence Sykoff. His efforts in advancing the quality of education and his commitment to excellence will continue to benefit and inspire my constituents and all NJ residents.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, the White House and congressional Republicans continue to play games with our Nation's national security. Rather than working with us to modernize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Republicans insist that this House simply rubber- stamp a bill that passed the Senate earlier this year. House Democrats refuse to do that. Instead, just as we did last November, we will bring a balanced bill to the floor today that gives our intelligence community the tools it needs to track terrorists and prevent another attack while also protecting the constitutional rights of innocent Americans. We believe this approach produces the best results for our intelligence community, and that is why we refuse to simply rubber- stamp the Senate bill. Mr. Speaker, when House Republicans allowed the President's Protect America Act to expire last month, they did so knowing that all of the authorities granted the intelligence community in that act would be in place until this summer. We had time to get this legislation right, and today we intend to pass a strong compromise bill that should garner support on both sides of the aisle.

Mr. PALLONE

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

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I would ask that the following letters of support for H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, submitted for the Record on the floor debate on this hill. Parity Now Coalition, March 3. 2008. Hon. Patrick Kennedy, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Jim Ramstad, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Representative Kennedy and Representative Ramstad: The undersigned organizations applaud you for your commitment to mental health and addiction parity legislation. We wish to thank you and your staffs for the countless hours you have dedicated to this bill thus far and look forward to working with you towards enacting the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007 into law. We hereby lend our formal support to this invaluable piece of legislation.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Andy Willner's lasting contributions and dedication while serving as NY/NJ Baykeeper Executive Director. Mr. Willner's commitment to safeguarding the Hudson-Raritan Estuary helped eliminate pollution and restored efficiency in the estuary's streams and shores for almost twenty years. In March Mr. Willner will retire after eighteen years of service as Baykeeper. On March 7, 2008, at the Liberty House Restaurant in Liberty State Park, the Baykeeper's Founders Fete will honor Mr. Willner for all he has done in keeping New Jersey and New York waterways safe. Mr. Willner began his distinguished career as a sailing vessel captain, city planner and boat builder. He has always concerned himself with environmental issues and has thus participated in numerous conferences concerning shore protection and keeping our harbors safe. Later, he served as member on the Dredge Materials Management Work Group and the Hackensack Meadowlands Special Area Management Plan among the various environmental organizations he was a part of. Mr. Willner has received many renowned awards for his work including the ``Hero of the Harbor'' Award as well as the Stewardship Recognition Award from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Mr. Willner began his work with the NY/NJ Baykeeper in 1989 and has served as Executive Director for eighteen years. His work with the Baykeeper included bringing attention to coastal issues, protecting our shores, and eliminating pollution in our waters. With the momentous efforts of Andy Willner, the Hudson-Raritan Estuary has been kept safe and protected for nearly twenty years. Madam Speaker, I sincerely hope that my colleagues will join me in celebrating the work of Andy Willner. His continual efforts to keep our waters protected will continue to benefit and inspire the people of New Jersey.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today to support the passage of H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007, a comprehensive bill which will establish full mental health and addiction care parity. My colleagues, Representative Patrick Kennedy and Representative Jim Ramstad, have worked exhaustively to complete the mission that Congress embarked upon more than 10 years ago through the passage of the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996. That 1996 act authorized for 5 years partial parity by mandating that the annual and lifetime dollar limit for mental health treatment under group health plans offering mental health coverage be no less than that for physical illnesses. H.R. 1424, introduced by Representatives Kennedy and Ramstad, will fully ensure equity in coverage for mental illness and substance abuse disorders by requiring that group health plans with mental health coverage offer that coverage without the imposition of discriminatory financial requirements or discriminatory treatment limitations. The bill also protects against discrimination by diagnosis and requires plans to cover all mental health and substance abuse disorders. Mental illnesses are biologically based disorders, and there is no reason we should affirmatively provide protections to a student with depression or a young adult with schizophrenia, but not a child with autism or an elderly person with dementia. The bill also requires equality in out-of-network coverage. Again, a plan need not offer out- of-network coverage, but if it does for medical conditions, it should for mental illnesses as well. There are many good actors that already offer equity in care. However, some try and create a phantom network of providers, where doctors in the network have long waiting lists or are not appropriate to treat certain illnesses. Mental disorders are the leading cause of disability in the United States for individuals between the ages of 15 and 44. But many health disorders are very treatable illnesses. H.R. 1424 would allow those individuals and families struggling to cope with the diverse array of illnesses which fall under the category of mental illness to have greater access to affordable care in order to alleviate the tremendous burden that these conditions can cause. Furthermore, H.R. 1424 will help to allow individuals that have been disabled by mental health and addiction disorders to acquire the treatment that they need in order to once again become productive members of society. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the passage of this important legislation which will ensure the equitable treatment of very serious diseases. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to table the appeal.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1014, I call up the bill (H.R. 1424) to amend section 712 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, section 2705 of the Public Health Service Act, and section 9812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require equity in the provision of mental health and substance-related disorder benefits under group health plans, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, neither the public nor the press are buying into the scare tactics coming out of the White House and the Republican leadership here on Capitol Hill about the expiration of the President's supposed Protect America Act. Here are just a few of the editorial examples in papers from around the Nation. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote that, ``The President's assertion that our country is in more danger of an attack is patently ridiculous.'' The Miami Herald writes that, ``Once again, the administration has claimed that if it doesn't get its way, the terrorists win. Unfortunately, the administration is resorting to exaggeration and hyperbole to make its case.'' The Syracuse Post Standard concluded that ``Congress should take the time to get this legislation right.'' Mr. Speaker, Congressional Democrats are serious about passing a strong FISA law that gives our intelligence community the legal tools necessary to protect our national security, and that is why bicameral negotiations continue. But, unfortunately, Republicans refuse a seat at that table.

Mr. PALLONE

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Florida. She makes the point that this physician self-referral provision in the bill actually serves two purposes. On the one hand, it is about half of the pay-for for the cost of the legislation. The physicians self-referral basically generates about $2.4 billion over 10 years, which is about half of the pay-for in this bill. But beyond that, in addressing the gentleman from Washington's concerns, it is actually a good thing. It is a good government proposal. And what it does, it ends the ability of physicians to self- refer to a hospital in which they have ownership. This change is consistent with the original intent of the physicians self-referral laws. The loophole for whole hospital ownership was only there because of tiny rural hospitals that were then owned by one doctor who practiced there. Now that structure is no longer commonplace and that is why the hospital associations all endorse our bill. The bill does provide a grandfather for hospitals that currently have physician ownership and had a provider agreement with Medicare as of July 2007, the date of introduction of the bill. Within 18 months of enactment, they need to meet a standard that no physician owned more than 2 percent of the facility individually and that aggregate physician ownership was 40 percent or less. So it is possible for the hospital in the State of Washington to reconfigure and meet this provision. But I just want to understand why we are doing this. These physician-owned hospitals essentially are a problem because they are being overutilized. There is overutilization. In other words, physicians are referring patients to these hospitals in many cases for unnecessary procedures. The reason why CBO scores this and uses it as a pay-for is because we know that these unnecessary procedures or overutilization takes place and is not basically a good thing. So we are trying to end this practice of self-referral. We are not completely precluding a hospital from reconfiguring itself and staying open, but, generally speaking, we need to end the practice.

Mr. PALLONE. The answer to that is that we believe that the legislation, as it is before you today, accomplishes that goal. In other words, as I said, these hospitals within 18 months of enactment, they can essentially reconfigure, so if no physician owned more than 2 percent--