Nancy Pelosi

Ms. PELOSI

Ms. PELOSI. I thank the majority leader, and if he will continue to yield for a second question: Nothing in this process will restrict the traditional rights of the minority or the rights of the committee in being named as conferees for the final product; is that correct?

Ms. PELOSI

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's information.

Ms. PELOSI. And airport towers legislation?

Ms. PELOSI. And pension reform?

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Leader, are there definitely going to be votes next Friday?

Ms. PELOSI. I appreciate that. I do have one other question. I unfortunately do not see on the schedule a date for the prescription drug legislation to be scheduled. I have been hearing over and over that it is coming up soon, it is coming up soon. As you know, Mr. Leader, the need is great. We have been hearing that the majority is going to schedule this legislation for months. We need a real Medicare benefit that protects our seniors from the huge cost of prescription drugs. Every day is important to them. I would like to ask the majority leader what the plan is for bringing a prescription drug benefit under Medicare to the floor.

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the distinguished gentleman from Texas for the purpose of inquiring about the schedule for next week.

Ms. PELOSI. I thank the distinguished majority leader. I have some further questions. On what days will the following be scheduled: the appointment of the fast track conferees? trade promotion authority conferees?

Ms. PELOSI. And then the Monument Fairness Act, Mr. Leader?

Ms. PELOSI

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of naming a post office in Philadelphia after the Rev. Leon Sullivan. Leon Sullivan was first of all, a man of God with deep spiritual beliefs as a Baptist minister. Rev. Sullivan made his mark in our country as a civil rights leader and founder of the Opportunities Industrialization Centers, which provides job training for in the U.S. and 18 other countries. Rev. Sullivan made his mark on the international stage as a humanitarian in the struggle to free South Africa from the grip of the apartheid regime. As a member of the board of General Motors, in 1977, Rev. Sullivan developed the ``Sullivan Principles'' as a guide for companies operating in South Africa. They played a major role in convincing U.S. companies to divest in South Africa as long as the black majority was oppressed. One of my greatest personal experiences was meeting with Rev. Sullivan and listening intently as he discussed with such passion and power, the need to help the African people move toward self- determination. I was proud to be of assistance to him. Rev. Sullivan also wrote a book called the Global Sullivan Principles, which addressed the responsibility of multinational corporations to provide a livable pay for all workers. ``Every business, large and small, can find a way to improve the standard of life for poor people who need help in America and in the world,'' he said. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this effort to name a post office on behalf of the Rev. Leon Sullivan, a man who saw the need for job training and set about developing job training centers around our country and around the world. What a high honor to recognize a man who saw the wrong of the South African apartheid regime and set about righting it. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Ms. PELOSI

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, does the gentleman think it will happen before the July 4 break?

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for the information.

Ms. PELOSI. I yield to the gentleman from Missouri.

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I would like to ask the distinguished gentleman if he could be more precise about which day the marriage penalty legislation will come to the floor.

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, do we know when the prescription drug bill might be scheduled?

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, can the gentleman shed some light on when some of the appropriations bills will be scheduled?

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Blunt) to talk about the schedule for next week .

Ms. PELOSI

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time and for his leadership for this important alternative that is being presented on the floor today, the Pomeroy-Thurman substitute. I also thank the gentleman for his championship on issues that are of concern to America's farmers. Every day he is here, he fights for them. Every day he is here, we learn from him about how to help America's farmers; and that is what he does in this Pomeroy-Thurman substitute. I rise in support of the substitute and commend the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Pomeroy) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Thurman). Mr. Speaker, we take this bill up at a time when our young men and women are abroad defending our Nation against further terrorist attacks; yet the Republican leadership is undermining our security at home by passing yet another irresponsible tax bill. Make no mistake about it, the bill undermines our Nation's security. It will rob us of the resources we need to defend our country. It will rob us of the money we need to protect Social Security. The bill does not even repeal the estate tax until 2011, and it will actually increase capital gains tax on the various estates that they claim to help by eliminating the stepped-up basis consideration. Their bill costs more than $1 trillion, and it will raid the Medicare and Social Security trust funds at the exact moment the baby boomers begin to retire. In contrast, our Democratic estate tax relief bill offers real reform, and it brings much greater and more relief to family farmers and small businesses than theirs. Beginning January 1, 2003, the exemption from estate tax would jump to $6 million per couple, an exemption of $6 million per couple in the Pomeroy-Thurman substitute. Americans with $6 million who die pay no taxes. If Members are worried about people above that level, we are talking about half a percent of the American people. Those estates will get hit with higher capital gains taxes than they do under the Republican bill. It is very simple. If an estate is less than $6 million, that person would definitely want the Democratic bill. You will pay no estate tax effective January 1, 2003. Mr. Speaker, I will submit the rest of my statement for the Record. I urge Members to do the right thing by 99.7 percent of the American people and vote for the Pomeroy-Thurman substitute.

Ms. PELOSI

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. And this is the first time I have had him yield to me in his capacity as a member of the Committee on Rules. We are all very proud of that accomplishment for him and thank him for his great leadership there and on this bill, which is a very important one. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and in support of the legislation, and I commend the Committee on Science for their excellent work on this reauthorization for the National Science Foundation funding. For a long time, our colleague, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson), has sponsored a bill and given us all the opportunity to register our support for drastically increasing the funding of the National Science Foundation. I am so pleased now that the Committee on Science has taken up that leadership, and the considerable leadership of the chairman, et cetera, of the committee to make this a possibility; that we would be on a path to doubling the National Science Foundation budget. Mr. Speaker, I serve as a member of the House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education of the Committee on Appropriations. A number of years ago, we set off on this path to double the funding for the National Institutes of Health. We are in our last year of that doubling effort. It was very important to the health of the American people. So, too, is the doubling of the National Science Foundation. Not only do we have to do this, but we should do more. We had the Tech Talent Act, which encourages young people and mentors them in studying math and science so that we have the seed corn for us to have the scientists who will maintain and improve and enhance our technological base, and as well, as the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) said, our economic base as well. Our progress in the National Institutes of Health, the Human Genome Project and other progress, really springs from the improved instrumentation that came from the technology side of it, the hard sciences, physical sciences side of it, the nonbiomedical science. So we all benefit across the board in terms of biomedical research, which is so important to the American people; the economic success, which is so important to our country; and also the fulfillment of the young people who have the talent and should be encouraged to study math and science and become scientists. So I am absolutely delighted today that in this bipartisan way we can come to the floor. I commend the distinguished chairman of the committee and the subcommittee, as well as the Members on both sides of the aisle, for making this a reality for the Congress to take this vote and make it a reality for our country; and I will do everything in my power working with them to ensure that this can be translated not only into an authorization but an appropriation as well.

Ms. PELOSI

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, today we mark the 13th anniversary of one of this century's most brutal attempts to silence the voices of freedom and liberty. Thirteen years ago today, the Chinese regime shocked the world as it rolled out the tanks and crushed the pro-democracy movement taking shape in Tiananmen Square. The authoritarian leaders of China still do not acknowledge the massacre of those brave young souls. We have not forgotten those who lost their lives for the cause of freedom. We must not forget those who are still imprisoned. Imagine that, people are still in prison 13 years later for speaking out for freedom. They have lost their liberty and the pursuit of basic human rights. Today, we renew our call for the Chinese Government to acknowledge the massacre, free all of those who are in prison because of peaceful expression of their political and religious beliefs. China must also allow the return and free expression of those who have been forced into exile. Mr. Speaker, in China if one speaks out for freedom, they are either imprisoned or in exile. One of those imprisoned, Wenli, founder of the China Democracy Party, is serving a 13-year sentence in a Chinese prison. Mr. Xu is one of China's bravest, most eloquent and most measured advocates of democracy. He is not calling for the downfall of the Communist Party; he is just asking for the establishment of a democratic party in China. Yet he remains behind bars, despite being gravely ill from hepatitis contracted in prison. Mr. Speaker, the brave men and women who demonstrated for democracy in Tiananmen Square are the legitimate heirs to the legacy of our Founding Fathers. They quoted Thomas Jefferson. They built a monument fashioned after our Statue of Liberty. They looked to the United States as a beacon of hope and freedom. We looked, and still look, to them for their courage, their idealism, and their dedication to the establishment of basic human rights. The spirit of Tiananmen Square lives on. The seeds of democracy sown in 1989 have taken root, and they will inevitably burst forth in full flowering. I really wish that we could help them. In 1989, when many of us were concerned about the plight of those who were killed or arrested at the time of Tiananmen Square and a couple of years after that, we tried to have the U.S. weigh in. We were told at the time that we could not weigh in in favor of human rights because trade was going to improve human rights in China. Part of our complaint was indeed China's blocking of our products going into China. At that time, the trade deficit with China was about $2 billion a year. We thought that gave us great leverage to free the prisoners. Today, it is nearly $2 billion a week. So for all of those who said trade was going to improve human rights in China, sadly it has not; but we really have given away the store when it comes to trade with China because they have now a nearly $100 billion trade deficit. Think of the leverage that would have given us. In addition to that, one of our other concerns was China's proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Our main concern was China's proliferation of nuclear technology to Pakistan and China's transfer of missile technology for the delivery of such a weapon to Pakistan. The administration, Democrats and Republicans alike, told us that China was going to be helpful in defusing the nuclear issue in south Asia; but, indeed, that was not the case. Indeed, China helped build Pakistan's nuclear program. China has contributed to the explosive situation that exists in south Asia today; but at the time when we were asking for the U.S. to use its leverage to promote democratic values, to promote our exports by having fair trade policy and to use our leverage to stop China's proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, we were told that the status quo would make everything right. Certainly it has not. I want to get back to those who are in prison, some still because of Tiananmen Square and others for their activities since. As we look to those people in China and we talk about the promotion of democratic values being a pillar of our foreign policy, they have to wonder what it means about being a pillar of our foreign policy when it comes to China. I know that there are many people in our country who, despite the policy of our government, still believe that we are a great country and that we want to promote democratic values. Mr. Speaker, I wish I could tell my colleagues human rights in China have gotten better since 1989, but the sad fact is they have not. According to our own State Department report, authorities are still quick to suppress any person or group, whether religious, political or social, that they perceive to be a threat to government or to national stability, that is what they always say; and the citizens who sought to express openly dissenting political and religious views continue to live in an environment filled with repression. Mr. Speaker, I just want to tell my colleagues that, call attention of our colleagues, to the lone man before the tank. The world will long remember the lone man before the tank, but I want to say here tonight that as much as the Chinese authorities may say to those in prison that they have not been forgotten, we know that in the Congress of the United States and that this country of ours, those prisoners are long remembered, and they are remembered by name, and we will mention those names as long as they are being repressed by the Chinese regime. So again, Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to observe the June 4 massacre in China.

Ms. PELOSI

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join with Mr. Wu, Chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and other members of the caucus to observe Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. I commend Mr. Wu for his leadership of the Caucus. The theme this year is ``Unity in Freedom.'' In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attack, our nation has gained a new sense of unity and a new appreciation for our freedoms. Immigrants and ethnic groups are a vibrant and vital part of who we are as a country, and we must use these challenging times to learn about, and to draw strength from, each other. Asian Pacific Heritage Month provides us with the opportunity to recognize the important contributions of Asian Pacific Americans. In the San Francisco Bay Area, we have three exciting projects underway that will help educate all Americans on the experiences of immigrants from Asia and the Pacific region. In the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco, plans are underway to establish two important links to our past: the Pacific Coast Immigration Museum and the Building 640 Interpretive Center. I am seeking funding this year to advance these two projects. The immigration museum will serve as a western counterpart or ``bookend'' to the famous Ellis Island Immigration Museum. It will celebrate the unique experience of Americans who came to the West Coast from Asia, the Pacific Islands, Latin America and other regions. It will be the only museum to present the history of all immigrants who settled on the West Coast. The Pacific Coast Museum will also provide active linkages to other historical sites and institutions throughout the region. Building 640 at the Presidio was the site of the original all-Nisei language school of the Military Intelligence Service of World War II, the forerunner of the famous Defense Language Institute in Monterey. While their families were living in internment camps, Japanese Americans were trained in Building 640 to assist the U.S. military with translation and battlefield interrogation. The interpretive center will be dedicated to the Military Intelligence Service and to the exploration of the Japanese American experience. An important related project is the effort underway to preserve the Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay. Congresswoman Woolsey is leading the drive to obtain federal funding for Angel Island. Between 1910 and 1940, hundreds of thousand of immigrants from around the world entered the United States through Angel Island. The immigration station is best known for the experience of Chinese immigrants from 1882 to 1943, when the Chinese Exclusion Act prohibited many Chinese from coming to the U.S. and denied citizenship to foreign- born Chinese. Many Chinese were interned at Angel Island for up to two years. Together, these three projects offer a way to tell stories of great resonance to current and future generations. The contributions of people of different origins to our common heritage and our military security have never been more relevant. I am pleased to have this opportunity today to honor all of the contributions of Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage.

Ms. PELOSI

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, on the eve of Memorial Day when we honor the heroes who made the supreme sacrifice for democracy, the Republicans are taking extraordinary efforts to shut off debate and stifle the democratic process. The Republican majority has desecrated a bill designed to support the troops, honor their mission, and help those affected so sadly by September 11. The Republicans dishonored this bill by their stealth attack on the Social Security fund. It is no wonder the Republicans are ashamed to vote in the light of day in public on their secret $750 billion increase in the debt ceiling, which is necessary, of course, to cover their tax break for the rich at the expense of America's seniors who depend on Social Security. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote against this closed rule, which is a sign of failure on the part of the Republicans to honor their commitment to the democratic process and to America's seniors.

Ms. PELOSI

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Justice William A. Newsom as he is recognized by the San Francisco Forum as the ``San Franciscan of the Year.'' The San Francisco Forum, dedicated to preserving the cultural, social, and philosophical values of San Francisco, has made an excellent choice by selecting Bill Newsom for this award. A man with a kind heart, diverse interests, and great abilities, Bill embodies the best of San Francisco. A native of San Francisco, Bill earned his bachelor's degree in French Literature from the University of San Francisco. Following graduation, he served for two years on active duty as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Artillery and then for four years on reserve duty as a First Lieutenant. While in the Reserves, he completed his law degree at Stanford University and then stayed at Stanford to receive a Master of Arts degree in English Literature. His early career as a lawyer included time spent working as an Associate Attorney with Willick, Wheat, Geary, Adams, & Charles, with James Martin Maclnnis, and with Getty Oil Italiana, serving as in-house counsel for the corporation's office in Rome. His responsibilities to the Getty Family would later include service as a Trustee for several of the family's trusts and foundations. His current business, Newsom Associates, directs the personal business operation of his longtime friend, Gordon Getty. Bill became an Attorney at Law in Tahoe City, California. He specialized in environmental litigation, and his clients included the Sierra Club, the League to Save Lake Tahoe, and the Audubon Society. After eight years in private practice, he was elected to the Superior Court of Placer County where he served as a member of the Juvenile Justice Commission and coordinated the creation of a county-wide child abuse prevention program. His work in Placer County was highly regarded, and in 1978 he was appointed to be an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal at San Francisco. He was then elected twice to twelve-year terms. Bill served with distinction on the bench and earned a reputation for fairness, diligence, and his commitment to his principles. Bill has also been an outstanding environmental champion. He is a Trustee for the Environmental Defense Fund, Sierra Legal Defense, the Sierra Club Foundation, and the Earth Justice Legal Defense Fund. He is a Director of The Wildlife Conservancy and the Mountain Lion Foundation. Bill Newsom has been a wise judge, a trusted counselor, a great father, and a loyal friend. He is engaged in the issues of his day and always of service to his community. I am proud to join his daughter, Hillary, his son, Gavin, and the San Francisco Forum in saluting him.

Ms. PELOSI

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, this weekend we will celebrate Memorial Day, a day to honor our Nation's war heroes. This holiday began during the Civil War, my colleagues, when the women, and many of them widows and daughters of those who fought in the Civil War, made a decision to decorate the graves of soldiers from both North and South, regardless of the side on which they fought, to decorate their graves. It was for many, many years, decades, known as Decoration Day. The act of reconciliation between the North and South that these women initiated is something that is carried on in a tradition to this day. Today, we call it Memorial Day, and it is something that we are very, very proud of. Many young women are in harm's way today as we speak so that the democratic process can flourish in the world, certainly in our country, and to begin to emerge in Afghanistan. As the senior Democrat on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, I know full well, as I know we all know in the body, Democrat and Republican alike, that we must make the necessary investments to protect Americans in the Armed Forces and to protect our country. I do not think there is any doubt of that, and I do not think anyone questions the wholehearted commitment of every person in this body to do that. We all agree, Mr. Chairman, that additional resources are needed to meet our Nation's defense and homeland security needs. We all support that, Democrats and Republicans alike. I want to commend the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young), the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, on which I am proud to serve, for his great leadership and the manner in which he conducts the work of our committee. And I want to also commend the ranking member, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), for working closely with Chairman Young. They both worked to bring this bipartisan product to the floor. We had hoped that the priorities that were spelled out in the Committee on Appropriations to meet the necessities of force protection, homeland security, and helping to meet the needs of those who suffered as a result of September 11 would not be a matter of any controversy whatsoever. That is why it was so sad to see the leadership of the Republican Party in this House desecrate, desecrate this important piece of legislation which was committed to protecting our forces, protecting our homeland and helping those, as I said, affected by September 11. This is an act of desecration when we should be acting in a manner to honor those who serve us and those who have suffered. We all support the President in the war on terrorism. We have been united with him, shoulder to shoulder, since September 11 to that end. But we do not support and cannot support the shameful tactics of the Republican majority to prevent debate and limit democracy. Instead of proposing a bill to meet our legitimate needs to fight terrorism in a fiscally responsible way, the Republican majority has sneaked the second largest increase in the debt limit in this Nation's history without a vote on any debate. I wonder how they thought that they could get away with such a thing, or why they thought it was even appropriate. As the majority party in the House of Representatives, in the Capital of the United States, a model for the rest of the world, why did they think it would be a good idea and okay to sneak the second largest increase in the debt limit in history in a stealth manner, not even to be voted on on the floor, bypassing the democratic process? And the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means shed some light on that earlier. He came to this floor and he said, in essence, how can we expect to vote on every single item, every single piece of legislative business? We do not have time. It would be ridiculous to think that we would have the time to vote on every single little item. Well, we think differently about protecting Social Security for America's seniors. We do indeed. I did not know we thought as differently until I heard it expressed and Social Security trivialized as just another legislative item that we do not really have time to debate or to vote on separately. That was very enlightening. And I think it probably points out the difference between the Democrats and the Republicans. We think Social Security is important. We will vote to protect it. We would like to do so in a democratic way. And I am so sad and disappointed that the Republican majority would desecrate this important piece of legislation by undermining Social Security to give a tax break to the wealthiest Americans. Mr. Chairman, the Republicans are hiding this plan from the American people. They are hoping to take the money and run, without letting the public know their intentions. Make no mistake about it. They are voting today to authorize taking $750 billion out of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds to pay for other programs. When you review the Republican proposal, you have to wonder: what happened to all the budget deficit hawks on the Republican side? Have they become an endangered species? Indeed, I think they have become extinct. Today, without telling anyone, those same Republicans are requesting the second largest increase in the debt limit in our Nation's history to continue their raid on Social Security and Medicare. We must have an up or down vote on their stealth plan to mortgage our children's future.

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?