Donald Payne

Mr. PAYNE

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, Ms. Esther Dolores Wright has dedicated her life to the service of others as an educator for over 40 years. She began her teaching career in Newark, N.J. in 1964, and over the years, she has literally touched thousands of lives in a positive way. Ms. Wright received her Masters of Arts in Education with a concentration in Administration and Supervision from the University of Virginia in May, 1976. She has served the students, parents, and teachers of Maple Avenue School as an Administrator for over 15 years. During her tenure as Principal of Maple Avenue School, she has presided over many important changes to the school facility and programs, including complete renovations to the school auditorium, gymnasium, and playground area, as well as the establishment of a state of the art science lab and the creation of a computer network, which provides internet access to all of Maple Avenue School's primary and middle school students. They have implemented a distance learning program in conjunction with the New Jersey State Department of Education, which recognized Maple Avenue School with a `Best Practices' award. She has continued to provide support for innovative programs to encourage student achievement such as the Morning, After School, and Saturday Academy enrichment programs; character development programs such as Best Friends for girls and Best Men for boys; the Afternoon and Evening After School Youth Development Programs, which serve the student and community populations; and Project ACCEL, which reduces high school drop out rates and retention rates for students. In addition, under Ms. Wright's guidance and direction, Maple Avenue School and students have been at the forefront of a number of innovative initiatives such as Law Day, Career Day, Instrumental and Choral Music programs, the Talented and Gifted Program, and a school wide Science Fair. Maple Avenue School students have represented the school in the district Science Fair, Math Fair, and Technology Fair, and have consistently won local and regional Art awards. In addition, their debate team has been City Champion for several consecutive years and their basketball team played in the 2003 District Championship finals. During Ms. Wright's time as Principal, Maple Avenue School has also been recognized by the district for achievements in Literacy, Science, and Math. Based upon 8th grade GEPA scores for the past two years, Maple Avenue School has been cited as one of the top 5 schools and one of the top 10 schools, respectively, in the district in Literacy. During the same time period, Maple Avenue School has been recognized as one of the most improved schools and as one of the top 10 schools in the district in Science. During the 2001-2002 school year, Maple Avenue School has been one of the top 10 most improved schools in Math, according to ESPA scores, and has been a past winner of the Math Olympics and most recently went to the district semi-finals. Maple Avenue graduates are accepted into the Newark Public School's Magnet High School Programs; Arts High; Science High; University, Technology, and Essex County Vocational High School; as well as area Private and Catholic High Schools at a rate of 30 percent. Many more participate in Magnet Career Academies, which provide transition into skilled career opportunities after High School. I salute Ms. Wright for her dedication to the students, parents, and teachers in our community, and I am proud to have her in my district. Mr. Speaker, please join me in extending my thanks to Ms. Wright for her lifetime of public service, and I invite my colleagues to join me in recognizing the achievements of the Maple Avenue School.

Mr. PAYNE

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to recognize an outstanding member of my community, Mr. Michael Roccia. For 63 years, he has been fighting to improve the working conditions and lives of American workers. He has spent 32 years with Local 262 in New Jersey, and has served our community well. He was Shop Chairman for Local 305, CIO from 1940-1969. During that time he organized 500 employees of the L.S. Branch Co. for Playthings, Jewelry, and Novelty Workers, CIO Local 305. When Local 305 became Local 301, he became General Organizer, and when that merged with Local 262, he continued to work, serving as Business Agent for as many as twenty shops. He would go on to serve as Local 262's General Organizer, and eventually became their President. He has been Vice President of both the IUC and the RWDSU, and has served on the Advisory Committee of the UFCW. Mr. Roccia has lived the life of a worker and an activist. He has labored on an assembly line, organized workers, walked the picket line, negotiated contracts, handled grievances, argued arbitrations, and fought for health and welfare plans. He has led and inspired the men and women of Local 262 in New Jersey to commit to activism, working early in the morning and late at night to improve labor conditions for all workers. In his own words, ``The work of a good trade unionist can never be a 9 to 5 job--never an 8 hour day.'' I salute Mr. Roccia, the oldest officer in his Union, for his lifelong commitment to serving others. I am proud to have him in my district, and I am honored to call him my neighbor. Mr. Speaker, please join me in extending my thanks to Michael Roccia, and I invite my colleagues to join me in wishing him the strength to continue his good work for many years to come.

Mr. PAYNE

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, it is with a great deal of respect that I rise to acknowledge the accomplishments made by Dr. Stuart D. Cook during his tenure as president of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). As Dr. Cook steps down from the presidency after six years, the Concerned Citizens at UMDNJ and the UMDNJ-University Hospital are proud of the contributions he has made to this institute of excellence. During his presidency, Dr. Cook partnered with the Board of Trustees at UMDNJ, faculty, staff and students to create a compelling vision for the future. Through his efforts, federal research support to UMDNJ more than doubled over the past five years. Over the past four years, the university's funding from the National Institutes of Health has increased at a faster rate than the average for all schools and universities in the nation. The National Science Foundation, in its most recent rankings of research universities across the nation, ranks UMDNJ as the number one research university in New Jersey as measured by federal research expenditures and 71st out of the top 100 research universities in the country. This marks the university's highest ever ranking. Under Dr. Cook's leadership, the university is in the midst of a $535 million statewide capital construction program to upgrade existing space and provide new space for scientists and clinicians. On the Newark campus, which is in the heart of the 10th Congressional District, the University Behavioral Health Sciences Building and the International Center for Public Health have been completed. Additionally, construction of the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School- University Hospital Cancer Center and a second Ambulatory Care Center are underway. Construction of a new clinical building for the UMDNJ-New Jersey Dental School will be completed in the first quarter of next year. On the Piscataway campus, a new building housing a research tower for UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and UMDNJ-School of Public Health was opened. In New Brunswick, the steel structure for the Child Health Institute was completed and the new wing of Cancer Institute of New Jersey facility will open in early 2005. On the Stratford campus, the University Doctors Pavilion is open and construction is underway for a new wing of the Science Building. Complementing these outstanding efforts, other initiatives include, the establishment of a University Professorship Program which has to date, named 15 researchers to the faculty. This program significantly increased the overhead revenues to the University as the researchers brought with them more than $7.5 million in federal funding. The University also created a program that is unique in the nation--the Master Educators Guild--which recognizes teaching excellence. The Guild now has 48 faculty members. Through collaboration with other colleges and universities throughout the state, a school of public health emerged. As a result of this effort and Dr. Cook's leadership, the School of Public Health established the Institute for the Elimination of Health Disparities. Mr. Speaker, as he returns to the faculty at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School to continue his clinical practice and research in multiple sclerosis, I urge my colleagues to commend Dr. Cook for all that he has done in his years as president of UMDNJ.

Mr. PAYNE

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Providence Missionary Baptist Church on the occasion of the dedication of their new church facilities. Founded in Newark in 1921, this church has been serving and ministering to our community for 83 years, and has long been an institution within my district. In March of 1921, six families gathered to establish the Rose Hill Baptist Church, calling Rev. B.W. Keith as their first pastor. Though they have moved to various locations around the city of Newark, they have continued to bless our community through their dedication to serving each other, as well as their neighbors, through compassionate ministry. Providence Missionary Baptist Church continues to reach beyond their own parish to serve the citizens of Newark, establishing a feeding and clothing ministry called Feed My Sheep, Christian Education and Leadership training, an Annual Leadership Conference, and a preschool for the children in the community. Under the leadership of their current Pastor, Rev. Vincent Grove, they continue to experience growth, adding new members to their congregation, and renovating and expanding their facilities. Mr. Speaker, please join me in extending my thanks to the members of the Providence Missionary Baptist Church for their contributions to our city. I also invite my colleagues to join me in sending our congratulations as they celebrate the completion of their new church building, and offering our best wishes as they commemorate their 83rd anniversary later this year.

Mr. PAYNE

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to recognize a respected member of my district, Elder Ellis Smith, Jr., as he and his congregation celebrate the dedication of their church on April 4, 2004. Elder Smith celebrates this event with his beloved wife, First Lady Elresia Smith, their three sons, Ellis Tarique III, Ellis Jerod IV, and Terrell, and their daughter, Jullisa. Elder Smith was born in Newark in 1961, which makes him my neighbor for almost 43 years and counting. He is a graduate of West Side High School in Newark, Evangelical Bible Institute in Parsippany, and he attended Upsala College in East Orange. Elder Smith formed Siloah Church in 1997 and had the first services at his kitchen table at his Parsippany residence. Sunday afternoon services were held for a brief period at Rouzeu's Manor in Orange. The Smith family eventually converted the family room of their residence into a Sanctuary, where Sunday morning services and Bible study continued until they acquired a site in East Orange in early 2001, changing the ministry's name to The Love of Christ. From its nascency, assembled around his kitchen table, to its full emergence as The Love of Christ Ministry, Elder Smith has nurtured this growing gathering of the faithful. As they celebrate and dedicate this special event, I hope that he will be encouraged as he sees the fruits of his labors and will be refreshed to continue his ministry with excitement and vigor. It is my distinct honor to join with his congregation and our community in offering our encouragement and support as they celebrate the dedication of their church. I hope that this will be a time of great blessing for him and his family. We are all grateful for his leadership and vision, as well as his community involvement through the Statewide Parent Advocacy Network and the Coalesce Youth Organization. Mr. Speaker, please join me in extending my thanks to Elder Smith for his years of pastoral ministry, and I invite my colleagues to join me in wishing him the strength and grace to continue for many years to come.

Mr. PAYNE

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a distinguished member of my community, Grand Master Thomas P. Caldwell. An admirable citizen and resident of Newark, Mr. Caldwell will be honored on Saturday, April 3, 2004, and I wish to acknowledge his contributions to my district. Mr. Caldwell was born in Charlotte, North Carolina to Mattie and Melvin Caldwell and is one of eight children. He is married to Glenda Dodd, and they have one daughter, Melody. He graduated from Shaw University with a B.S. in Political Science and continued his educational experience at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey and Fairleigh Dickerson University in East Rutherford, New Jersey. He has been a faithful employee of the New Jersey Department of Labor since 1972, and has held several positions of increasing responsibility there, now serving as Assistant Director of Programs and Services. He is a member of the International Association of Personnel in Employment Security, where he has served on the International Board of Directors and led a Labor exchange to the Republic of China and Japan. He also received the Association's highest award, ``The President's Award'' in 1989. Mr. Caldwell is dedicated to community service, assisting in the development of the Vailsburg Block Association, and serving as the President of the PTA of St. Mary's Elementary School, Louise A. Spenser High School, and University High School. He has been an active supporter of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, participating in many Walk-a-Thons to help raise money to increase awareness for the fight against this disease. He is a member of the NAACP, the Second Ward High School National Foundation, the George E. Cannon Lodge #858 I.B.P.O.E. in Vaux Hall, New Jersey, and the Vailsburg Block Association Council. He has also been very active in the Prince Hall Masonic Organization, enjoying their fellowship and providing for them an excellent and well-respected leader. Mr. Speaker, please join me in extending my thanks to Mr. Caldwell for his service to my community, and I invite my colleagues to join me in sending our sincere congratulations and best wishes.

Mr. PAYNE

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a devoted and inspirational member of my community, Rev. Dr. Gadson L. Graham, on the occasion of his 45th Pastoral Anniversary. Dr. Graham will be honored this month by the members of the Canaan Baptist Church of Paterson, New Jersey, and I am honored to join with them in extending my best wishes to this man who has dedicated his life's work to serving others. He has ministered to our community as a preacher, a teacher, a mentor, and a counselor. In 1975, Dr. Graham founded the Haitian Project, Canaan Baptist Church's first foreign mission program, and has extended this global outreach to many other countries, including Liberia, Senegal, Benin, and Uganda. His global ministry has offered him the opportunity to meet with members of the British Parliament, the Honorable Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa, and His Excellency Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe. Dr. Graham serves on the Board of Directors for the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and serves as Advisory Board President of the Rutgers School of Nursing, both in Newark, New Jersey. Among his many honors and awards, he was named Pastor of the Year by Brothers in Blue, a Policeman's Fraternal Organization in the City of Paterson; was the first African American minister to mentor African American students at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck; and was the recipient of the Z-HOPE HONOREE Award, given by Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., State of New Jersey, and Rho Tau Zeta Chapter of Paterson for his humanitarian pursuits to uplift women and their families in Haiti, Africa and other countries. I am grateful for Dr. Graham's leadership in the community, and I value his commitment to meeting the needs of his brothers and sisters in Paterson, the United States, and around the world. Mr. Speaker, please join me in extending thanks to Dr. Graham for 45 years of pastoral ministry; and I invite my colleagues to join me in wishing him the strength and grace to continue for many years to come.

Mr. PAYNE

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a valued member of my district, Mr. Connie Richard. Mr. Richard has been a respected educator and administrator in the Newark Public School System for 35 years and will celebrate his retirement on March 26, 2004. Mr. Richard was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but moved to Newark as a young child with his parents and sister. During his teenage years, he and his sister, Belita, were active participants in the Newark YMCA/ YWCA programs that I directed. His sister, Belita, was one of the two Newark High School teenagers selected to participate in a YMCA- sponsored international travel program, which included a 3-week tour of Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru. His dedication to his studies and his academic achievements earned him a scholarship to study at the College of Santa Fe in New Mexico. He returned to Newark after graduation and began his career with the public school system. For the past 35 years, he has worked tirelessly within the Newark Public School System as both teacher and administrator. He has served as Project Coordinator of Elementary Reading Centers, District Title I Coordinator, Central Office Title I Coordinator, Chapter I Supervisor, Director of Special Projects, and Special Assistant to SLT Assistant Superintendent. Never content to end his day when working hours were over, he has been an active volunteer with the Sussex Avenue Recreation Program, the Alexander Street School Aerospace Club, and neighborhood athletic and leadership programs. He is a member of the New Jersey Education Association, the New Jersey Minority Caucus, the Association of School Administrators, the New Jersey Association of Federal Program Administrators, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the National Association of Federal Program Administrators, the National Coalition of Title I/Chapter I Parents, the New Jersey Congress of Parents and Teachers, and the Organization of African American Administrators. I can assure you that his retirement will be as active as his working life, full of time spent with family and friends, enjoying camping, athletics, and great jazz music, traveling to destinations both familiar and uncharted, and honing his woodcarving skills. I salute Mr. Richard for his dedication to the students, parents, and teachers in our community. I am proud to have him in my district, and I am proud of the legacy he has left for our public school system. Mr. Speaker, please join me in extending my thanks to Mr. Richard for his lifetime of public service, and I invite my colleagues to join me in wishing him a happy, fulfilling retirement.

Mr. PAYNE

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Rahway's Foundation as they honor two outstanding members of my district. I would like to add my praises to theirs as we celebrate the work of Dr. John and Mrs. Christine Kline, who have dedicated their personal and professional lives to serving the members of our community. Dr. Kline has been a member of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Rahway's Medical/Dental staff since 1972, serving as the organization's President from 1995 to 1996. He has been a member of the Credentials and Executive Committees, served as Chairman of the Department of Surgery, and is currently Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedics. He is a founding member of the Rahway Independent Physicians Association and has served as their President for over 8 years. Dr. Kline has long been a trustee of the RWJUH Rahway Foundation, serving as Second Vice-chairman and Chairman, and is a member of RWJUH Rahway's Board of Governors, The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery, New Jersey Orthopaedic Society, New Jersey Medical Society, the Arthroscopy Associates of North America, and the Union County Medical Society. Christine Kline has been a member of the RWJUH Auxiliary for over 20 years, serving as past Vice President and current President, and is a trustee of RWJUH Rahway Foundation, presently serving as Vice-Chairman. She is a member of the Foundation's Fashion Show Committee, and has been the Chairman of the Foundations' Rose Ball Committee for the past 6 years. She has served as Vice President of the Union County Unit of the American Cancer Society, Chairman of their Tobacco Task Force, and in 1997, was the recipient of their Volunteer of the Year Award. She has served as the President, Finance Officer, Washington Legislation Officer, and Parliamentarian of the Medical Society of New Jersey Alliance. Currently, she sits on the Board of Directors of New Jersey Breathes and is President of the Union County Medical Society Alliance. She was instrumental in the formation of a national program on domestic violence through the American Medical Association Alliance, has served on the Fund Raising Committee of the YMCA of Eastern Union County's battered women and children's shelter, and chairs a statewide Annual Teen Health Seminar that teaches high school students about real life choices. I salute these two caring individuals who have served our community so well, and I am proud to call them my neighbors.

Mr. PAYNE

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a valued member of my district, the late Ira Resnick. The city of Montclair recently experienced the loss of this dedicated public servant who devoted his professional life to serving his neighbors through community organizing. As the chief operating officer at the Community Foundation of New Jersey, Ira worked to build the Neighborhood Leadership Initiative into a year-long, statewide training fellowship for community leaders. He has also been involved with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, the Indiana Citizens Action Coalition, the Paterson Interfaith Communities Organization, the United Passaic Organization, the Jewish Fund for Justice, the Neighborhood Small Grants Network, the Center for Social and Community Development of the School of Social Work at Rutgers University, and the National Housing Institute's Conference on Families and Civil Society. My district is fortunate to have citizens such as Mr. Resnick, who quietly go about the work of improving the quality of life within our neighborhoods, seeking service rather than recognition, and accomplishment rather than reward. My district will long be the beneficiary of his life of hard work and dedication to community values. I extend my sympathy and prayers to Ira's wife, Ellen, and to their two sons, Robert and Caleb; and I thank Ira for his years of service.

Mr. PAYNE

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to recognize a valued institution in my home city of Newark, New Jersey, WBG0 Jazz 88, as they celebrate 25 years of service to our community. Founded in a time when there were no New Jersey-based public radio stations, WBG0 recognized the opportunity to use public radio as a means of engaging the community and raising cultural awareness. They saw that they could play a role in uniting people who were divided from years of racial and social unrest, as well as helping to rebuild a city that was in great need of revitalization. Newark Public Radio is one of 12 New Jersey cultural organizations that has been designated a ``Major Impact'' arts organization by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. WBGO has been awarded this distinction for each of the past thirteen years. Within public radio, WBGO is regarded as a leader for its ground-breaking work in community and volunteer involvement, special events, and the presentation of jazz (including collaboration with local artists). WBGO has made it their mission ``to champion jazz . . . through radio, other technology, and events.'' Through education and entertainment, they preserve the rich heritage and cultural achievements of jazz, ensuring its place as an institution of American culture. Jazz music has been shaped by multiple influences and cultural experiences--a fusion of European and Caribbean elements--but has emerged as a uniquely American art form. Embedded in the African- American experience, jazz tells a story of the American experiment from a new perspective. WBGO Jazz 88 brings this story to 15 of the 21 counties of New Jersey, all five boroughs of New York, and portions of Connecticut, reaching an estimated 405,000 listeners each and every week. I salute WBGO for their dedication to the arts, to public radio, to our community, and to jazz. I am proud to have them in my district, and I wish them continued success as they endeavor to bring the truly magical, truly American legacy of jazz to the 21st Century.

Mr. PAYNE

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, let me begin by thanking the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings), the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, for calling this Special Order; and let me commend my colleagues, each of them, who gave eloquent speeches and for their involvement. We have an issue here that the Black Caucus stands united on. We are together. This is an issue that is extremely serious, because the people of Haiti have endured more than their share of struggle, unrest, and bloodshed. This January marks the bicentennial of the independence of Haiti in 1804, the world's first black republic and the second country in the Western Hemisphere to gain its independence, a country that defeated the mighty armies of Napoleon, where Napoleon sent his own brother to fight in Haiti and Haiti defeated the great French military. And in their defeat of the great French military, the French government became poorer. They needed funds. They expended tremendous amounts of money on the war. Secondly, Haiti produced more income for the French republic than all of the 13 Colonies in the United States put together. What they exported, what was taken out of Haiti were valuable items. So we have a nation very strong and proud and important. We had a nation that Simon Bolivar lived in. He was a liberator of South America. He was in Haiti, and he lived there and he studied the valiance of the Haitian Army and went back and fought the Spanish and South America and Bolivia became an independent country. We have Haiti that caused the French, as I mentioned, to lose their financial resources and, therefore, had to sell to the United States the Louisiana Purchase, the Louisiana territory which was controlled by the French. That opened up the west. The Lewis and Clarke expedition started in St. Louis and went and explored the United States of America, once again Haiti's connection to the growth and development. In the battle of Savannah, 800 Haitians fought in the Revolutionary War for our independence from Britain. As a matter of fact, the United States would not recognize Haiti for over 50 years until after the Civil War because they always had a fear that Haitians would come through Florida and then, because there were more black people in the South than whites, they thought that this Haitian Army could lead liberations through the States of the South of the United States of America, so they would not recognize Haiti because they did not want a Haitian diplomat to come to the United States. It was not until after the Emancipation Proclamation, after the Civil War, that the United States Government appointed Frederick Douglass to be the council general to Haiti. The U.S. waited until they felt comfortable that a black diplomat could come to this country. So Haiti is involved with us. Our Marines went there in the 1900s and controlled, and we ran the country and we allowed dictators, Papa Doc and Baby Doc, to run that country. So we have a responsibility. We should be there currently. We should be there to tell those thugs and drug dealers and the former soldiers of Generals Cedras and Biambraz and the former police chief Michel Francois who was one of the coup plotters when President Aristide was sent out of the country, those thugs and criminals and drug dealers are coming back into the country. Who could we negotiate with when we see bans of thugs running down the street and President Aristide, who speaks six languages, French and Spanish fluently, he will speak in Spanish or in English and Patois, his own language, and Latin? We are saying that he is a person that we cannot negotiate with and we are going to deal with drug dealers and thugs and gangsters and murderers and former people from the old army? The answer is clear. We need to stand up now. We need to send resources into Haiti. We need to join with the international community, the French, the Canadians, the Venezuelans, the friends of Haiti who will come together, the Jamaicans, the South Africans. We must act; we must act now.

Mr. PAYNE

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, a tragedy is occurring off our shores. A duly-elected government in Haiti, President Jean Bertrand Aristide's government, is in jeopardy. He is being challenged by the former FRAPH, a paramilitary group of outlaws and bandits, the former military leaders who are across the border in the Dominican Republic and drug dealers who have taken over parts of that country, using their influence to corrupt the citizenry. On the other hand, we have a person who is duly elected, President Aristide. I cannot understand why our Nation that stands for democracy all over the world stands idly by while we let thugs who are burning and raping and looting take a free hand. The French have said we are willing to go in. We have 4,000 troops, as a matter of fact; and they even said, as a matter of fact, U.S.A., we do not need you, just support us. I urge our government to help the people of Haiti by coming up with a diplomatic solution to the problem in that country.

Mr. PAYNE

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise before this body of Congress and this Nation today to pay tribute to the passing of a man who spent his lifetime seeking to expand trade and investment ties between the United States and Africa. David H. Miller, of Silver Spring, Maryland, and originally from the state of Michigan, passed away on February 2 following a year-long battle with cancer. As his family, relatives, and friends mourn their loss, I would like to recognize a few of his many achievements here today. The son of Mr. and Mrs. William P. Miller of Farmington Hills, Michigan, Mr. Miller received a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from George Washington University and a Masters degree in Business Administration with a concentration on finance from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Mr. Miller worked for the public relations company of Black, Manafort, Stone & Kelly as a Research Associate and for Congressman Mark Siljander as a Legislative Assistant for Foreign Affairs. Thereafter, Mr. Miller was the Desk Officer for South Africa, Angola, and Namibia at the U.S. Agency for International Development. Mr. Miller then served as the Senior Associate for Africa at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), where he led over 140 U.S. companies on investment missions to 16 African countries. Mr. Miller helped to create the Corporate Council on Africa, and served as its first Executive Director from May 1993 to June 1999. At the Council, Miller was the principal liaison between the Council staff and more than 210 corporate and individual members. Mr. Miller was responsible for advising member companies on trade and investment activities in Africa; outreach to African government and private sector leaders; U.S. executive and legislative activities relating to African issues; and projects before international financial institutions such as the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank. Under his direction, the Corporate Council on Africa grew from an organization with six members, a limited budget, and one employee to an organization of over 210 members, an annual budget in excess of $3 million, and fourteen employees. Mr. Miller formed AfricaGlobal, and served as its Managing Director and Director of Government Affairs. He was responsible for handling the government clients and the governmental affairs of AfricaGlobal's corporate clients. Mr. Miller advised government clients on how to best communicate and create positive relationships with the international private sector and political leaders. Mr. Miller had extensive experience in corporate affairs and communications, and was the speechwriter for AfricaGlobal's clientele. Mr. Speaker, David H. Miller worked with great dedication in advancing relations between African nations and the United States, and is certainly deserving of praise before this body today. He is survived by his wife, the former Kyung Hee Cho; his children Max, Audrey, and Han; his parents; his brothers Bill and John, his sisters Anne and Mary; other extended family members; and a host of friends both in Africa and in the United States. Our thoughts are with them during their time of bereavement. To his family, friends, and the many people in the community who knew him, David H. Miller will be missed deeply.

Mr. PAYNE

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, as a cosponsor of H. Con. Res. 264, I am very pleased to join in this effort to honor the life and accomplishments of Constantino Brumidi. An Italian immigrant of partial Greek descent, his beautiful works of art grace our greatest symbol of democracy, our Capitol building where we gather to conduct the nation's business and where we welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world each year. Constantino Brumidi spent 25 years of his life, from 1855 to 1880, painting, decorating and enhancing the beauty of the United States Capitol. This talented artist was born in Rome, Italy to Stauros Brumidi from Greece and Anna Bianchini Brumidi of Rome on July 26, 1805. He was trained as an artist and painted in Rome and at the Vatican. He arrived in New York City as a political refugee on September 18, 1852 and became an American citizen in 1857. He began painting in the U.S. Capitol on February 19, 1855 and spent more than 25 years of his life painting, decorating and beautifying the corridors, committee rooms and the Rotunda of the Capitol. Brumidi created many magnificent paintings and decorations depicting the history, inventions, values and ideals of the United States, thus enhancing the dignity and beauty of the Capitol and inspiring tens of millions of visitors. In 1865, he painted in just 11 months his masterpiece, The Apotheosis of Washington in the canopy of the eye of the Capitol dome. In 1871, Brumidi created the first tribute to an African American in the Capitol when he placed the figure of Crispus Attucks at the center of his painting of the Boston Massacre. He died on February 19, 1880, exactly 25 years to the day that he first began work in the Capitol. Brumidi also painted in Catholic churches in cities along the east coast, including Washington, DC (St. Aloyisus Church), Baltimore, Md., Philadelphia Pa. and most especially, in St. Stephen's Catholic Church in New York City. Brumidi is buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, DC. His grave marker there was authorized and paid for by the U.S. Congress in 1950. Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the Constantino Brumidi Society, and its Chair, Joseph N. Grano, for all of their hard work in promoting a deeper appreciation of the works of this great artist. The Constantino Brumidi Society was organized in February 2000 by individuals with a special interest in the U.S. Capitol and Italian culture for the purpose of educating the public about the life and work of Constantino Brumidi. The lofty goal of the Constantino Brumidi Society is to make Americans more familiar with his works of art in the Capitol and elsewhere, and to encourage an appreciation for the fine art traditions of the Italian High Renaissance and Baroque which Brumidi studied and employed. They also aim to support and encourage the preservation and conservation of Brumidi's paintings and frescoes in the Capitol and elsewhere, particularly at Our Lady of the Scapular and St. Stephen's Catholic Church in New York City. In forming this organization, it was also their hope that by celebrating Constantino Brumidi's life and art, this Italian immigrant and American citizen who did so much to beautify the most important building in his adopted country would become a household name, and that every American would come to know this wonderful story. His life story should be seen as emblematic of all the millions of immigrants who came to the United States to better themselves and in consequence enormously enriched their new homeland. In the moving words of Brumidi himself, ``I have no longer any desire for fame or fortune. My one ambition and my daily prayer is that I may live long enough to make beautiful the Capitol of the one country on earth in which there is liberty.'' The Society has as its special focus the year 2005, which will be the bicentennial of Constantino Brumidi's birth, the 150th anniversary of his commencing work in the Capitol and the 125th anniversary of his death. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution to honor a man who has secured a special place in our history and in our hearts, both as an extraordinary artist and an outstanding patriot.

Mr. PAYNE

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. (Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Chairman, I join today with the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller), the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey), the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews) and others, myself included, in offering a Democratic substitute to H.R. 3030, the Community Service Block Grant. I strongly believe that the Democratic substitute does two important things: one, it supports ongoing participation of faith-based providers and Community Service Block Grant programs; and, two, it restores basic civil rights protection for families and employees who benefit from participating in Federally funded Community Service Block Grant programs. It was interesting to listen to the earlier discussion when one of the previous Members on the Republican side said that we Members of Congress on our side ask what religion people are before we hire them. I was pretty shocked. I do not know if I know the religion of any of my staff members. I do not even know if they are religious. So we do get revelations here when we have these discussions. And it does, once again, show the difference between the ideologues who are holier than thou when in their employment they are going to find out what religion you are before you can be hired. It was also interesting that the same gentleman talked proudly about the former founders, the framers of the Constitution, and how they were so great in using the Bible to teach people as they have used government money to buy these Bibles to teach, one, the American Indians and, number two, simply to use religious people to teach. Of course, these same framers of the Constitution were the same people that said I was three-fifths of a person. As you may recall in the Constitution of the United States, African Americans were considered three-fifths of a man. And when I was a youngster my grandfather always told me that his grandfather told him about this three-fifths of a man. That is what black people were. These great religious framers of the American Constitution had everyone as a full person but blacks were only three-fifths because in the census for Congress, they did not want blacks, who could not vote in the first place, to be allowed to distort the number of people in Congress in the South. And so when we start talking about the framers of the Constitution, we need to have a whole day discussing the framers of the Constitution. Since the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Bartlett) brought it up, I just thought I would mention it. I just want to say that, one, I certainly think that we are turning the clock back. For over 40 years, Community Service Block Grant programs have been instrumental in assisting families in poverty, and faith-based communities have made strong partners. It has worked. But as we know, back in 1998 there was a change in the middle of the night. An amendment was put in that changed charitable-choice provisions, which was added to allow religious organizations to receive Community Service Block Grants to use Federal funds to discriminate with respect to employment. This is new. That was done in 1998 when the bill was changed. So I think that this really says a lot about the people on the other side of the aisle because they want to take Federal money and say that you have the right to discriminate. And on top of that, unfortunately, religion happens to be, on Sunday mornings it is the most discriminating hour in the United States' week, because most churches are totally racially segregated in most communities. So once you start bringing in religion as a way to hire, the next thing that will follow actually is that you will then find that racial discrimination will follow the religious discrimination. So as we have all people from all races losing their lives daily in Iraq, where we have people in Afghanistan of all races fighting together, we find those who fostered this war on us saying we have got to separate people. We do not separate them on the battlefields. We do not ask the religion when they go out to try to get the enemy. But all of the sudden we are going to ask the religion of people. What hypocrisy. What hypocrisy. You can die on the battlefield under the American flag, but when you go to get a job you have to tell your religion. I think that the day will come when all of this will pass by the board. It is sooner than we think. It is going to be in November this year.

Mr. PAYNE

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, last year, I led the opposition to a pre- emptive war in Iraq--which, according to testimony given this week by former top U.S. Weapons Inspector David Kay, wasn't even pre-emptive. If Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction program, what potential harm were we pre-empting? President Bush has led our country further and further away from the fold of the international community, ignoring the United Nations Security council's findings, and virtually demolishing the international support we had received following September 11th. He has challenged Americans to a ``you're either with us or against us'' agenda, which leads to the most dangerous kind of patriotism--where questioning and dissent are considered un-American. Well I, as an American and a patriot, am now standing again to ask questions about the cost of this war. We spent $396 billion in military spending alone for 2003. As big as this number is, it does not even include the cost of the Iraq war, which was funded through two additional supplemental requests; the first for $79 billion, the second was another $87 billion. Together, that amounts an amazing $562 billion. For 2003, that amounts to almost $11 billion dollars spent ever week, and more than $1.5 billion spent every day. Compare that to this year's Department of Education budget of $54 billion, which works out to less than 150 million dollars per day, which averages out to less than $3 million per day in education spending in each state. $1.5 billion on the military, $3 million on education: so where are our priorities? Here at home, 9 million Americans are unemployed, 35 million live under the official poverty line, 44 million have no health insurance, and millions more are unable to make ends meet. States face their worst fiscal crisis since the Great Depression, and the yearly federal budget deficit is passing $500 billion and growing rapidly. My own state, New Jersey, is facing a projected $5 billion budget deficit for 2004. And this administration doesn't intend to change course anytime soon. According to the 2005 budget released this week, they are planning to spend $2.2 trillion on the military over the next 5 years. For 2004 alone, they plan to spend $399 billion on the military (which does not include any possible future supplemental funding requests for Iraq or Afghanistan) which is more than the combined spending that year for education, Health, Justice, Housing Assistance, International Affairs, Veterans Benefits, Natural Resources & Environment, Science & Space, Transportation, employment, Employment Training, Social Services, Income Security, Economic Development, Social Security, Medicare, Agriculture, and Energy. Where we spend our money is a telling sign of where our priorities lie. We have abandoned our children, our teachers, our laborers, our homeless, our veterans, and our seniors in order to fund these regime- changing, unilateral military actions. We are under funding No Child Left Behind, IDEA, after-school programs, and family literacy programs. We have not extended unemployment benefits for those without jobs. We have offered our seniors a Medicare program that does almost nothing to cut their prescription drug costs, and we're threatening to destabilize their Social Security through privatization. I am very concerned about the direction in which our country is headed. We're sliding further and further down a slippery slope where our county's basic needs are not being met. That is why this year's presidential election is so key. We need a leader that can mend the relationships broken by this unnecessary war and its ill-administered aftermath. We need to bring home the tens of thousands men and women whose lives have been placed on the line for no good reason. We must see change for the better. More numbers: For the cost of every cluster bomb, we can enroll 2 children in Head Start. For the cost of every minute of the war on Iraq, we could have paid the annual salary and benefits for 15 registered nurses. For every hour of the war on Iraq, we could improve, repair, and modernize 20 schools. For the cost of one day's war on Iraq, we could have prevented all of the budget cuts to education programs in 2003. For the amount of money we spend ever week in Iraq, we could build 142,857 units of affordable housing. For the amount of money we spend to buy one stealth bomber, we could pay the annual salary plus benefits for 38,000 teachers. We might be able to give a few of them a raise--image that! Each day the Pentagon spends $1.7 billion, which is enough to build 200 new elementary schools, house 136,000 homeless, or provide Pell grants to one million college students (per day!). With less than the cost of ONE of the Iraq supplementals, we could do all these things: Provide basic health and food to the world's poor: $12 billion. Rebuild America's public schools over 10 years: $12 billion. Reduce class size for grades 1-3 to 15 students per class: $11 billion. Reduce debts of impoverished nations: $10 billion; Provide health insurance to all uninsured American kids: $6 billion; Increased federal funding for clean energy and energy efficiency: $6 billion; Public financing of all federal elections: $1 billion; Fully fund Head Start: $2 billion. Other countries military spending: Russia--$65 billion; China--$47 billion; Japan--$42.6 billion; U.K.--$38.4 billion. These combined are a total of $193 billion, which is less than half our FY '03 or FY '04 military spending--not including the cost of Iraq and Afghanistan. Please don't confuse military spending with the safety and security of our Nation. It is a common misconception that higher military enhances homeland security. However, many of these responsibilities fall onto our struggling, under funded State and local government agencies, whom we know as ``first responders,'' and to agencies outside of the Defense Department, such as the FBI, FEMA, and the Coast Guard. This massive military spending budget addresses none of these programs. Another matter of concern to me is not only how much money we're spending on our military, but how that money is being spent. The President's $87 billion supplemental contained an astronomical waste of taxpayer dollars. These are just some of the administration's requests: $100 million for several new housing communities, complete with roads, schools, and a medical clinic; $20 million for business classes, at a cost of $10,000 per Iraqi student; $900 million for imported kerosene and diesel, even though Iraq has huge oil reserves; $54 million to study the Iraqi postal system; $10 million for prison- building consultants; $2 million for garbage trucks; $200,000 each for Iraqis in a witness protection program; $100 million for hundreds of criminal investigators; and $400 million for two prisons, at a cost of nearly $50,000 per bed.

Mr. PAYNE

Mr. PAYNE. The ratio is how much more the CEO makes than the regular worker. If a worker is making $30,000 a year, in many countries the CEO would be making maybe 10 times that amount at the highest, $300,000, maybe 15 times in some places. In the United States, it is almost difficult to quantify what the average salary is and what the CEOs are making. Pharmaceutical CEOs make between 25 and $30 million. That is the salary. That is what they make with bonuses, stock options, and salaries. In all of the industries, we see these salaries that are so far above what the average worker's salary is, it is difficult to quantify. I am afraid to give that number. It recently appeared in a New York paper about a week or so ago. We are driving people down. The middle class is being squeezed. That little $300 people got as a tax rebate, while others got millions of dollars. I congratulate Senator Corzine who is a very wealthy person. He said he did not want the tax cut. He did not need it. He thought it was unfair when people who are struggling daily to make a living, just to move ahead. We have people who cannot afford bus tickets for two or three kids going to high school, and a kid may have to drop out because the family cannot afford it. It is $50 a month in Newark. With three kids, it is $150. That is just one of the costs. We are making it difficult for struggling, working people to make ends meet. The cost of education and health care have gone through the roof, whereas our wages have not only leveled off; they have dropped. We have not had an increase in minimum wage in years.

Mr. PAYNE. Finally, the Department of Labor as they are making new categories for workers who are ineligible for overtime through regulations, even though it has not been finalized, from what I understand on the Department of Labor's Web site, there are instructions for companies that might qualify on how they can move to take people in a new category as being ineligible for overtime pay and in steps one through five, how they can accomplish that. We are driving down the salaries of American workers and outsourcing of jobs going abroad. They said that would create more jobs in America in certain categories of jobs once the PRC, the People's Republic of China, continued to grow economically. We have not seen the impact here. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman allowing me this opportunity to have this discussion.

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, as the gentleman mentioned, we talk about promoting the general welfare and we talk about providing for the common defense. There is no question that we have provided for the common defense even above the defense, but in a military budget that is a different budget than a defense budget. But are we providing for the other things that we said? We are not. Architects and engineers, buildings to be designed are being outsourced. We would like to have a 30-story building with glass and chrome; and you write up something and send it out, and engineers and architects in India are coming up with architectural designs for companies that win the bids.

Mr. PAYNE. The gentleman might remember there was supposed to be a .2 percent drop in the unemployment rate, and the administration said, see, we are doing the right thing. However, it was because tens of thousands of persons seeking employment simply decided to drop out of the market of seeking employment. Some decided to go back to school; others just disappeared. So the actual unemployment rate, even though they said it dropped two-tenths of 1 percent, this month there are more people unemployed than previously unemployed; but if you do not seek a job, you are not counted. It is a flawed kind of statistic that says that unemployment is dropping. It is not dropping. It is a shame that we are even having this so-called jobless recovery. What does a jobless recovery mean? It simply means in the pockets of the corporations, because of the sending jobs offshore, they claim productivity is up. That is because when you pick up your phone to call a 1-800 number, it is picked up in Bombay or offshore. Doctors, I understand, when they do an EKG, it goes up and someone in an English-speaking developing country who is a trained physician looks at it and sends back what the diagnosis should be; therefore, the cost of a physician in our country is undercut. We saw the offshore development of textiles and toys and things, but now we are seeing high-level jobs also going offshore, and nobody is talking about that.

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I would like to commend the Congressional Black Caucus for taking time out the first hour and now the gentleman from New York's second hour talking about the budget priorities because the budget is so important. The budget will determine how this Nation will survive during the next decades. It is important that we look at the budget priorities because, as I mentioned, it will say where we are going as a Nation. Mr. Speaker, as I join my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus in urging a reordering of the Nation's budget priorities, I think it is very important that we just listen to what the President has said. State of the Union Speech and the Budget: Rhetoric Versus Reality. Of course, as we know, the President talked about the fact that jobs would be created. He said 2.9 million jobs, I think, would be created; but we have lost 2.3 million since he has been in. There are claims that more tax cuts would create jobs, not supported by facts. Claims about job growth, certainly overstated. Questionable commitment to manufacturing initiatives. We will talk about that a little more. Additional tax cuts will cost $1 trillion. Relief from the alternative minimum tax could cost nearly $700 billion. Up to $1 trillion will be needed for Social Security privatization plan. New tax-free accounts will have long-term impact on our deficit. The Mars proposal is likely to cost hundreds of billions of dollars. The administration's budget has omitted the cost of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Job training funds are just a drop in the bucket of what is needed. Proposal for drug testing and abstinence, but no additional funds for basic education. Basing Pell grant awards on course selections and not economic needs. Inefficient plans to help the underserved. Flawed efforts to lower health care costs. Additional health proposals that assist the healthy and the wealthy. No mention of veterans. So as I go around my congressional district talking with my constituents, I hear a great deal of concern voiced about the direction in which our country is moving. I have not heard anyone tell me that their family has benefited from the tax cut which has taken billions of dollars away from vital areas of the budget. The concern I hear raised is about education, including Head Start, after-school programs, college loans, Pell grants, and the need for affordable housing. They talk about access to quality health care and a healthier environment. So as I conclude, if the President supports the manufacturing sector of our economy, why did his administration propose earlier to phase out Federal support for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program? If he supports job creation, why did his administration try to cut adult training and vocational education? If he cares about education, why did his administration propose a change to focus the Pell grant program away from making college affordable to low-income undergraduates? Mr. Speaker, when the President took office, he inherited an amazing budget surplus of $5.6 trillion over 10 years. That has been squandered totally to the point where we have a $3 trillion deficit projected. Does it make any sense to talk about missions to the Moon and Mars when the basic needs of our communities are not being met? We do not even have the true cost of the war in Iraq, a war we entered based on the administration's statements that Iraq definitely had weapons of mass destruction, none of which have been found, despite months and months of searching. We are asked to spend $87 billion for new schools and prisons in Iraq, while schools in some of our communities are falling apart. It is time for us to restore some of the fairness and sanity to our budget process. I look forward to working with my colleagues and hopefully with the administration to turn these things around.

Mr. PAYNE. And even the fact that the CEOs' ratio of pay to the worker in many countries, it may be 50 to 1, 55 to 1 ratio.

Mr. PAYNE

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues here in the U.S. House of Representatives to join me in honoring a very special person, Staff Sergeant Carol S. Murray, who has given outstanding service to our Nation and to this institution. Sergeant Murray will be honored this evening by her many friends, colleagues, and family members on the occasion of her retirement from the United States Army. As the Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge and Administrative Supervisor of the Army's Congressional House Liaison Division since 1991, Sergeant Murray has earned an excellent reputation among members of Congress for her dedication and professionalism. I had the pleasure of getting to know Sergeant Murray when she accompanied a Congressional delegation to Haiti. She impressed me with her ability to handle with grace any situation which arose, while also showing deep respect to our host country and its residents during the diplomatic mission. I always enjoyed walking by Sergeant Murray's office in the Rayburn Building, because I knew I would be greeted with the warm, friendly smile she has for everyone. In her position, she was always willing to show newcomers the ropes, inspiring a sense of esprit d'corps which is so important for the morale of those serving in our military. In addition, whenever the Army was hosting a reception or event for a senior officer, she worked tirelessly to ensure that it was well-attended and successful. Sergeant Murray began her career in July of 1984 after completing Basic and AIT at Fort Jackson. She served in Stuttgart as the postal clerk for 139th AG Postal, Robinson Barracks. Her exceptional performance led to other assignments, including providing primary training in office procedures and policies, and acting as a mentor for all newly assigned Military Personnel. Following her tour in Germany, she headed to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to the XVIII Airborne Corps, where she served with the ``Fighting'' 305th AG Postal before leaving for Honduras and other numerous field deployments with the mighty 82nd Airborne Division. In January of 1988, she began working as a Postal Clerk with the 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Casey. She later worked as an Administrative Specialist to the Chief, Enlisted Records before serving as the Senior Administrative NCO for the Adjutant General's Office in the Military District of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I know my colleagues join me in offering congratulations and best wishes for the future to Sergeant Carol Murray, a great soldier, patriot, and friend.