Joseph Pitts

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, most homecoming kings are probably athletes or student government leaders, the ``in crowd''; but students at a Tempe, Arizona, high school broke the mold. Marcos de Niza High School's landslide winner for homecoming king was a 21-year-old student with Down Syndrome, Poco Carton. Poco is well-known around campus for his dance moves at lunch and for his insistence on saying hello to nearly everyone. The election is a vivid reminder that each and every life, regardless of what value the world places on it, is worthy of living. Every day, Poco and those who share his challenges offer priceless contributions to our communities, but too often they are taken for granted, excluded from the opportunities many of us take for granted. Studies show that 86 percent of unborn children who are diagnosed with Down Syndrome are never given a chance to be elected homecoming king. They are aborted. Down Syndrome is a challenge that taxes anyone facing it. Families caring for children with this disease need our support and encouragement, but if we believe that the way to kill Down Syndrome is to kill babies, we are dead wrong. How many Poco Cartons have we lost to this strategy? How many lives could have been touched at schools like Marcos de Niza? It is a cost too high to calculate.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I recently returned from a trip to Pakistan and India. I would like to commend Prime Minister Vajpayee of India and President Musharraf of Pakistan for the cease-fire in Kashmir and for their courageous leadership and peaceful dialogue in addressing an issue of deep importance to both nations. During my visit, I had the privilege of visiting a camp for internally displaced people in Azad Kashmir. The suffering that the people on both sides of the Line of Control have endured is horrific: land mines, bombings, deliberate rape of women and other human rights violations, all this in the midst of a land of great beauty. It is time for the tragic suffering to end. All sides in the conflict need to immediately cease using rape as a weapon of war. All sides need to allow children to receive an education. Until the issue of Kashmir is resolved peacefully, the stability, security and economic viability of South Asia and the international community are at risk. I urge the U.S. government to fully support the current positive steps between Pakistan and India to bring a peaceful end to this long- running conflict.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit for the Congressional Record the following Declaration of the Participants of the First Congress of World and Traditional Religions hosted in Kazakhstan earlier this fall. One of the most important aspects of this gathering was the emphasis on reconciliation and the final declaration recognizing the right of each individual to ``freely be convinced of, choose, express and practice his/her religion.'' Much of the tension in the world today is over the refusal of one group to allow another group or individual to peacefully practice his or her religious beliefs. I would like to commend President Nazarbayev for convening this important conference and I would like to commend all participants in the conference. Declaration of the Participants of the First Congress of World and Traditional Religions We, the participants of the First Congress of World and Traditional Religions, held from 23 to 24 September 2003 in Astana, the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Recognizing the right of each human person to freely be convinced, choose, express, and practice his/her religion. Considering inter-religious dialogue as one of the most important instruments for ensuring peace and harmony among peoples and nations. Supporting the efforts of the United Nations, other relevant international and regional organizations, as well as Governments, civil societies and non-governmental organizations in the promotion of dialogue among civilizations. Confirming the importance of religion for the well being of all mankind. Condemning the misuse and misrepresentations of religions and the incorrect use of differences among religions as a means for achieving selfish, disruptive and violent goals. Conscious of: The declining sense of respect for the sanctity of human life and the dignity of every human person. The serious challenges posed to global stability by poverty, hunger, illiteracy, disease, immorality and lack of access to clean water and health care. The recourse to oppression, cruelty and violence as the principle instruments for resolving disputes. The ecological crisis in which the world finds itself, with grave consequences for present and future generations. Declare: That the promotion of the values of Tolerance, Truth, Justice and Love must be the aim of any religious teaching. That extremism, terrorism and other forms of violence in the name of religion have nothing to do with genuine understanding of religion, but are a threat to human life and hence should be rejected. That the diversity of religious beliefs and practices should not lead to mutual suspicion, discrimination and humiliation but to a mutual acceptance and harmony demonstrating distinctive characteristics of each religion and culture That religions must aspire towards greater co-operation, recognizing tolerance and mutual acceptance as essential instruments in the peaceful co-existence of all peoples. That educational programs and the means of social communication should be essential instruments for promotion of positive attitudes towards religions and cultures. That inter-religious dialogue is one of the key means for social development and the promotion of the well-being of all peoples, fostering tolerance, mutual understanding and harmony among different cultures and religions, and operating to bring an end to conflicts and violence. That the entire human family must be encouraged to overcome hatred, enmity, intolerance and xenophobia. We shall strengthen co-operation in promoting spiritual values and the culture of dialogue with the aim of ensuring peace in the new millennium. We are ready to strain every effort not to allow the use of religious differences as an instrument of hatred and discord, in order to save mankind from a global conflict of religions and cultures. We look forward to joint actions to ensure peace and progress for humanity and to foster the stability of societies as the basis for a harmonious world for the future. We thank the Republic of Kazakhstan and his Excellency President Nursultan Nazarbayev for initiating and hosting this Congress. May our commitments be blessed and all the peoples of the world be granted justice, peace and prosperity. Resolutions of the First Congress of World and Traditional Religions The participants of the First Congress of World and National Religions, held from 23 to 24 September 2003 in Astana, the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Taking into consideration the fruitful exchange of views on the role of religions in promoting peace and harmony in the world. Expressing common understanding on the need to continue constructive dialogue among representatives of the world's religions. HAVE RESOLVED: To convene the Congress at least once every three years; To approve the following title of the Congress-- ``the Congress of World and Traditional Religions''; To request the Republic of Kazakhstan, as the initiator of the Congress, to elaborate all aspects related to the establishment of the Secretariat; To convene the Second Congress in Astana, the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to offer my most sincere congratulations to the Lancaster Firebird's Pee Wee AA hockey team in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Over the Thanksgiving weekend, the Firebirds won the Eastern Regional Silver Stick Championship tournament in Columbia, Maryland. More than 63,000 young hockey players play in these regional tournaments all across North America--from Huntsville, Alabama to Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Champions of these regional tournaments, represent their region at the North American Finals Tournament in Port Huron, Michigan in January. The Lancaster Pee Wee AA hockey team will now represent the entire East Coast Region. If the Pee Wee AA's win there, they will be crowned North American champions. The Silver Stick tournament was formed to promote citizenship and international goodwill through hockey. In that sense, it continues the time-honored tradition of using sport to build understanding and friendship across national lines. I am honored to congratulate the Lancaster Firebird's Pee Wee AA coaches Dave Bauer, Larry Collins and Jim Popp. And the Team Manager, Andy Lee. But most of all, I'd like to offer my congratulations to the players themselves: #3 Bob Lee, #4 Jacob Friedman, #5 Kyle Boyd, #7 John McCracken, #10 Travis Gold, #11 Jeffrey Branson, #12 Nico Delgiorno, #13 Danny Keich, #16 Kyle Troup, #22 Logan Gleason, #24 Ben Bauer, #25 Josh Lewis, #29 Talon Lewis, #31 Ryan Popp, #44 Alec Collins, and #97 Christian Grim. They have made us all very proud. I know that they will represent us well in Michigan. I look forward to continued success from their team and, hopefully, welcoming them home as North American Silver Stick champions.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, yesterday was the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. That day, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, was ``a day that will live in infamy.'' More than 2,400 Americans died that day, 1,100 were wounded, and that day changed America forever. But despite being attacked on our own soil, the American people responded with courage and resolution. This same courage showed its face on September 11, 2001. That same resolution continues to drive us in the war on global terrorism today. As President Bush said this weekend honoring Pearl Harbor, ``America's liberty is sustained by the courage of the American people. Every generation of Americans has answered the call to protect the blessings of freedom and democracy. With the help of our friends and allies, the brave men and women of our Armed Forces are now engaged in a global war on terrorism. And as in the aftermath of the terrible attack on Pearl Harbor, our Nation will stay the course, and we will prevail.''

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following for the Record: [From the Guardian, Nov. 4, 2003] Special Investigation--Race To Save New Victims of Child Porn (By Audrey Gillan) Paedophiles are swapping thousands of hardcore images of child sex abuse in a new form of computer child pornography that police believe is feeding a demand for more real-time victims of abuse. The Guardian has established that the demand for child porn through the use of file-sharing technology--normally associated with swapping music and movies--has grown so rapidly that law enforcement agencies are now employed in a global race to track down the children who are being abused. Some of the children, police believe, are being abused on a daily basis to provide a constant supply of new computerised material. Senior officers have revealed that the scale of peer-to- peer traffic in illegal images of children now dwarfs almost any other paedophile network they have encountered. The images are generally more extreme and at least 20% of the users are what police class as Category One, meaning that the suspect is ``of significant risk to children''. But resources available to police to tackle peer-to-peer child porn are limited and though they are catching some offenders, it may take months or even years to track down the location of some victims. In such cases, officers monitoring the images can only watch as the children grow older and continue to be abused. Many of those addicted to child porn have flocked to peer- to-peer file sharing software such as KaZaA, Morpheus and Grokster because they are free so, crucially, users do not have to leave any credit card details, leading them to believe that they cannot be traced. The explosion in file sharing, driven by the demand for music files, has also made the technology readily accessible, quick and easy to use. It also has the attraction of not requiring the users to be part of a traditional organised paedophile ring using password-protected, covert means to distribute images; rather peer-to-peer technology allows them direct access into the hard drives of other paedophiles' computers with no third party authority monitoring content as is the case with chat rooms and news groups. Scotland Yard officers have told the Guardian that they stumbled across this phenomenon by accident during another inquiry and say they have been stunned by its exponential growth. They believe the phenomenon is more alarming than previous internet-related cases, such as the high-profile Operation Ore. The Met's child protection hi-tech crime unit has already built a list of 800 suspects involved in file swapping illegal images in the UK alone. While most are involved only in sharing or downloading the images, a significant proportion are active abusers producing the material themselves, often using their own children, their neighbour's children or--in rarer cases--by luring strangers. At least 30 peer-to-peer cases in the UK so far involved hands-on abuse in which the children in the images were real-time victims. Police found one man who had wired webcams into his daughter's bedroom so that he could share video images of his abuse with other peer-to-peer file sharers. Detective Superintendent Peter Spindler, who heads Scotland Yard's paedophile unit, said: ``We are finding real-time live abusers. These people are able to get brand new images straight up on the net.'' His officers have found that when new images appear, the children involved are often related to or live nearby the person distributing the material. But the sheer volume of new material, combined with the fact that it could have been produced anywhere in the world, has meant that police have often been unable to pinpoint the child's location. Detectives rely on two methods of tracing location: electronic footprints left by the user while online and forensic analysis of the images to find clues pointing to the country of origin, such as telephone books in the background or the style of furnishings. In some cases, often where the child is being held prisoner and abused in a completely blank room, there are not enough leads for police to chase. One case being investigated involves a prepubescent girl who is being held prisoner in a room and repeatedly abused. International law enforcement agencies know only that she is in the United States and the FBI is trying to pinpoint her exact location. New images of the child are shared through KaZaA and other services but police have been unable to find her. Gemma Holland, victim identification project manager at the University of Cork's Combating Paedophile Information Networks in Europe (Copine) which has a database of more than 600,000 child porn images, said: ``This is a global problem. The abuse could be in the next village or somewhere near you but the problem is the images are being shown globally. Identifying the kids in these images should be our prime concern and of the greatest importance.'' The decentralised nature of the internet and peer-to-peer specifically make it difficult to define numbers of images in circulation or children involved but experts says it is growing daily. Washington's national centre for missing and exploited children, which acts as a clearing house for child porn tip-offs, said that reports of such images in shared files had increased by 400% this year. David Wilson, professor of criminology at the University of Central England in Birmingham, said: ``Peer-to-peer facilitates the most extreme, aggressive and reprehensible types of behaviour that the internet will allow.'' The Guardian understands that the National Crime Squad is considering coordinating all of this work, rather than leaving it to small groups working within the country's various forces; so far the leading forces have been the Met, West Midlands and Greater Manchester. Peer-to-peer has become more attractive for paedophiles in the wake of Operation Ore, the high-profile British police operation which was launched after US authorities handed over the names of 7,200 people suspected of subscribing to websites offering paedophilic images. While Ore has grabbed headlines, many senior officers and child abuse experts believe that targeting people at the lower end of the paedophile spectrum has been a distraction in terms of child protection. Prof Wilson believes Ore showed how the criminal justice system concentrated on the wrong type of offender, the people who downloaded the material rather than produced them. It needed to refocus on activities such as peer-to-peer file sharing and the producers of child pornography. He said: ``Police operations have not been getting to the type of paedophile that we need to get to. It's in their interests to keep the debate moving towards the kind of people they should be spending time and resources on. ``The achilles heel of peer-to-peer is that it makes something that is secret and furtive into something that is public and when it is public that offers the police a window of opportunity to police it.'' In a room on the fifth floor at Scotland Yard, officers in the hi-tech crime unit are trying to do exactly that, sitting at computers, monitoring activity on the peer-to-peer boards. They are part of a team working on Operation Pilsey which started as a smalltime inquiry in March 2001 by the Met's clubs and vice unit and burgeoned with the number of people posting images via file sharing. The detectives working here are now inundated. They explain that they can use technology to detect the location of those who download the images and sometimes that of the abusers. If there is a child immediately in danger, officers will conduct a raid as soon as they have a location. Paedophiles believe it is harder for them to be detected through peer-to-peer software but investigators are able to access their shared folders and quickly discover if they contain illegal images of child abuse. They are then able to establish the location of the owner of the shared folder.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, the British newspaper The Guardian has found that demand for child pornography through the use of file-sharing programs, like Kazaa, is leading to more abuse of children. The sale of peer-to-peer traffic in illegal images of children now dwarfs any other pedophile network they have found. David Wilson, professor of criminology at Central England, said, ``Peer-to-peer facilitates the most extreme, aggressive and reprehensible types of behavior that the Internet will allow.'' Programs that are used by kids to find songs or pictures of cartoons are delivering our children right into the clutches of these predators. And what are we doing about it? Nothing. Every day innocent kids are victimized on peer-to-peer file-trading software and our inaction allows them to walk right into the trap set by sexual predators. The time to act has come. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor my bill, H.R. 2885, so that we can move forward in protecting our kids online.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, our companies that develop drugs that treat life-threatening illnesses must go through a rigorous process to ensure the safety and effectiveness of their drugs. Only after these FDA requirements are met, can the drug be put on the market. Under rare circumstances, medications can be approved through an accelerated process known as Subpart H which was adopted to streamline the approval of desperately needed drugs intended to treat serious and life- threatening illnesses. RU-486, an abortion drug, was approved under this streamlined process. Several weeks ago, Holly Patterson, a California teenager, died from an infection caused by fragments of her baby's corpse left in her uterus after she took RU-486 at a Planned Parenthood facility. Mr. Speaker, the Food and Drug Administration should not have authorized this dangerous drug. Legislation is being introduced today that takes RU- N O T I C E Effective January 1, 2004, the subscription price of the Congressional Record will be $503 per year or $252 for six months. Individual issues may be purchased at the following costs: Less than 200 pages, $10.50; Between 200 and 400 pages, $21.00; Greater than 400 pages, $31.50. Subscriptions in microfiche format will be $146 per year with single copies priced at $3.00. This price increase is necessary based upon the cost of printing and distribution.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask once again, what more must happen in order for the international community to take deliberative, decisive action against the ruthless military dictatorship in Burma? Why would any country befriend this savage dictatorship that has no qualms about engaging in slave labor, systematic rape of women, destruction of villages, and murder of many innocent civilians? The U.N. Security Council should act, not only because of the regional security problems related to Burma, but also because of the regime's horrific human rights abuses. The abuses have caused a humanitarian disaster as hundreds of thousands of people have fled across Burma's borders in almost every direction. The military's brutal campaigns have created between 600,000 and 1 million internally displaced people, innocent men, women and children who live hiding in the jungles of Burma as they fear further attacks. Mr. Speaker, the U.S., the U.N. Security Council, the international community should act now to stop the atrocities. Oppose the blockage of humanitarian aid, bring an end to the suffering of the people of Burma, and address the regional security problems from this regime.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, this year, the Supreme Court will take up the case of whether children should be allowed to say the words ``under God'' in the Pledge of Allegiance. This cartoon captures an important point of this case: Does the first amendment allow porn but not God in public discourse? The ACLU would like you to think so. Their challenge to our laws, which protect our kids from online porn predators, is ridiculous. They want to be this teacher in the cartoon holding up a computer in front of your child saying, ``You cannot pledge allegiance 'under God' but, here, look at some pornography.'' The fact that this case even made it so far as the courts is a travesty. Something is very wrong with our courts. They say child pornography on the computer is perfectly legal, but the pledge is so offensive that we have to get rid of the words ``under God.'' The ACLU is out to sacrifice religion on their own little altar of pornographic speech. This is wrong. The Court should do the right thing for this country, for our children: uphold the pledge and the freedom that is ours to pledge allegiance under God.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, death by dehydration is a painful, agonizing, and arduous process that takes 10 to 14 days. In addition to feeling the pangs of hunger and thirst, the skin, lips, and tongue crack, the nose bleeds because of the drying of the mucus membranes, heaving and vomiting may ensue because of the drying out of the stomach lining, and the victim may experience seizures. Compared to starvation and dehydration, death by hanging, firing squad, or even the electric chair seems humane. But right now that death sentence is being carried out not against murderers, rapists, and child molesters, but on one of the most disabled in our midst. Terri Schiavo is not on a respirator or any artificial life-support equipment. Any reasonable person who sees this woman reacting to her parents will realize she is not in a coma or, as is sometimes called, a persistent vegetative state. Have we, as a Nation, become so callous that we have bought into the ``quality of life'' argument that some people simply are not worth the effort to protect and rehabilitate? I hope not.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, yesterday we considered H. Res. 234, condemning bigotry and violence against Arab Americans, Muslim Americans, South Asian Americans, and Sikh Americans. After September 11, Arab American-owned businesses were boycotted simply because of the ethnicity of their owners. These men and women came to this country to escape this kind of intolerance, to build a new life, to worship freely, and to do business freely. They did not expect to be blamed and ridiculed for something they did not do. This is not what America is all about. One such business was the Sunset Diner in Ephrata in my district. The diner is owned by Mike and Sam Mansour, two Egyptian-born brothers. Mike and Sam experienced significant hardship after the terrorist attacks. Just as we should not single out anyone of German, Russian, or Japanese descent for what some of their countrymen may have done in the past, we should not single out people like Mike and Sam for what 18 men with similar ethnic backgrounds did on one terrible day. I am pleased that the House has considered this bill, and I hope our communities will all take this lesson to heart.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, this truly is a historic moment in the House. I want to commend the chairman and the subcommittee chairman for their leadership on this issue. The subcommittee chairman spoke about Brenda Pratt Shafer who, in 1993, a nurse with 13 years' experience, was assigned to an abortion clinic by her nursing agency. She was, quote, very pro-choice at the time. We have heard her actual words as she describes the procedure, what she saw. Ms. Shafer never returned to that clinic after witnessing that partial-birth abortion. Those in favor of this procedure believe that Roe v. Wade is sacrosanct, that we should leave this pressing moral question to the whims of the unelected judges across the street. This type of abortion, partial-birth abortion, is more like a legal technicality. The baby must be delivered feet first so that the doctor actually forces the head to stay in the birth canal. Otherwise, he would be born and actually breathe. Most people would call this murder. But right now it is just a technicality. There is no excuse for this procedure in a civilized nation. I urge my colleagues to vote for this conference report.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, the Caron Foundation is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to provide an enlightened and caring treatment community in which all those affected by alcoholism or other drug addiction may begin a new life. The great work of this organization began when Richard J. Caron, an industrialist and recovering alcoholic from Reading, PA, and his wife Catherine, spent hours in their home ``chit chatting'' with people who came to them for help. Dick published a newsletter, which he called Chit Chat, to reach out to others who needed support and an encouraging word. In 1957, after years of opening their home to those needing a guiding hand in recovery, they established a halfway house. Before long, this too proved to be inadequate to accommodate the many individuals who sought their counsel. In 1959, the Carons purchased a historic resort hotel on South Mountain in Wernersville, PA, and opened Chit Chat Farms--a facility that has gained an international reputation for excellence as one of the first and foremost chemical dependency treatment centers in the United States. Now in its fifth decade of providing quality services, Caron offers a full spectrum of gender-specific chemical dependency treatment programs to meet the needs of everyone--from adolescents to seniors. Today, the Caron Foundation, rooted in the ``Chit Chat'' tradition, stands as a beacon of hope to individuals and families whose lives have become unmanageable because of chemical dependency. The Caron Foundation, one of the Nation's oldest and largest not-for- profit chemical dependency treatment providers, is located in a serene mountain setting in Berks County, PA. The Foundation is nearing completion of a 4-year $16 million master campus improvement and renovation project. This facility will enable Caron Foundation to continue to serve thousands in need of help. On Sunday, October 19, 2003, the Foundation will host an official campus dedication ceremony, appropriately themed, A Celebration of Growth and Change. John Schwarzlose, President and CEO of the Betty Ford Center will be the keynote speaker; among the honored guests will be the well-known philanthropist, Mrs. Leonore Annenberg. This celebration will allow Caron's Board of Directors and leaders to recognize the many donors whose generosity and support made this project possible. It will also provide Caron with an opportunity to showcase the newly constructed buildings, as well as the beautifully restored historic buildings that have been part of Caron's history for more than 45 years. It's time that we pay proper tribute to the people and organizations that make such a profound difference in the lives of people in desperate need to hope. The Caron Foundation has given so many the opportunities to make a new choice and start a new life.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, good news on the fiscal front from Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Secretary of Revenue Greg Fajt said this week that State revenues for September were up 6.4 percent, higher than expected. In fact, every revenue source has reported an increase for the fiscal year. Sales tax, corporate income tax, personal income tax and even the realty transfer tax and the inheritance tax have produced unexpected dollars for the State treasury. For the entire year, the cash has come in at 2.9 percent or $134.9 million over the estimate. In addition, the Small Business Survival Committee has ranked Pennsylvania's tax code 17th in the Nation for its friendliness to small business. That ranking was based on being last in corporate income taxes, 10th in personal income, 21st in property taxes and 2nd lowest in bureaucrats per 100 residents. I hope what is happening in Pennsylvania is symptomatic of what is happening in other States in our country as we seek to make Pennsylvania and America a better place to provide jobs and raise our families.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, a recent poll showed that two out of three residents in Baghdad believe that they are better off today than they were under Saddam Hussein. Less than 15 percent would rather live under repression. We are starting to hear more and more stories of Iraqis pointing us in the right direction in Iraq. A tip from an Iraqi led to a discovery of a priceless mask, thousands of years old. Another tip led to a buried cache of weapons. We do not hear much about these successes in the media, but Iraqi public opinion is with us. This week, Congress will begin consideration of the Iraq supplemental. As we move forward, we should encourage Iraqis to step forward and take control of their own country. But we should not, as some in this body suggest, turn over full control of that country before democracy has taken root, before we can ensure that a new Iraq will not become a haven for terrorists and Saddam's murderous followers. Iraq's future and our safety hang in the balance.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to have my name removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 1078.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, the President this week made a courageous move at the U.N. He called on the world to act against trafficking. The U.N. should follow the President's lead and take action. Human trafficking is one of the worst forms of human violations in the world today. Each year, over 800,000 men, women, and children are trafficked into prostitution or forced labor. It is modern-day slavery. It is absolutely vital that we act to remove these people from slavery and assist in their recovery, but it is also important that police and security forces around the world root out the people who profit off of this special evil. Many of these people are involved in organized crime. There are even reports that suggest profits from trafficking in persons are used to support terrorist activities. Make no mistake about it, any government that tolerates trafficking, tolerates a form of slavery.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, the first amendment does not guarantee us freedom from religion in government or anywhere else, but freedom of religion. That is an important difference. It offers the people the ability to determine the role of religion that takes place in society. But as the issue stands now, the courts, elected by no one, can determine the time, place and content of all religious displays at every level of government. They have even prevented a 4-year-old in New Jersey from giving his classmates pencils that happen to say ``Jesus loves the little children'' on them. The courts have embarked on a crusade to save us all from religion. The sad thing is that this debate is over religion in public life and has moved away from what the Founders intended. The Founders understood that religion, like all other ideas, should be thoroughly debated and considered as part of representative government. It should not be used to impose a lifestyle on anyone, but should play a role in our discussion. That is democracy. Congress can and should take action, before this country is ruled by judicial fiat instead of the consent of the people.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, as he stood on the beaches of Normandy, taking stock of what it cost to invade Europe, then-General Eisenhower asked, ``Where do we get such men?'' I think he would have asked a similar question last week. As Hurricane Isabel bore down on the east coast, Washington did what it often does: It panicked. We closed up the government and shut down the schools. But a different story was unfolding at Arlington National Cemetery. That solemn ground is the resting place for 260,000 soldiers. It is a site of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, built to honor those who died for our country, but whose remains were never identified. Members of the 3rd Infantry Regiment stand guard at the Tomb 24 hours a day. They are known as ``The Old Guard.'' When Hurricane Isabel hit the Washington, D.C., area, it packed winds up to 75 miles per hour and torrential rains. Cemetery officials relieved The Old Guard of their duty until the storm passed, but The Old Guard refused to leave. Staff Sergeant Alfred Lanier said the Tomb is something ``we cherish.'' Sergeant Christopher Holmes said leaving the Tomb is ``never an option for us,'' saying he was prepared to die while guarding it. We can only join with President Eisenhower in asking, ``Where do we get such men?''

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the substitute amendment and in strong support of the underlying legislation which will help provide necessary relief for our Nation's charities. Our tax code should encourage, not hinder individuals from giving generously to organizations to help people in need. In the wake of September 11, more Americans than ever answered the call to help a neighbor in need even while many were facing financial hardships on their own. Americans are a generous people. Our laws should help people to keep more of their money so they can invest it in charitable organizations that reflect their values. But we also need to take practical steps to help make it easier for individuals and corporations to give, and this legislation accomplishes this goal by helping nonitemizers to deduct charitable contributions, by raising the cap on corporate charitable contributions and allowing people to donate their individual retirement accounts to charity tax free. I am also pleased the underlying bill includes the reauthorization of a program that allows low income working Americans the opportunity to build assets through matched savings accounts, known as Individual Development Accounts, to purchase a home, expand educational opportunity, or start a small business. IDAs have been very effective in Pennsylvania and other States in helping lower income individuals to access the American dream. The underlying bill is a good bill and I urge my colleague to oppose the substitute amendment and support the bill.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, on September 17, 1787, 216 years ago today, the final draft of the Constitution was signed in Philadelphia. The day after a woman asked Benjamin Franklin what sort of government we have, he answered, ``A republic, if you can keep it.'' Beginning on December 7 of this year, five States, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut, ratified it in quick succession; but other States opposed the document saying it failed to provide basic protections like freedom of religion, speech and the press. In February of 1788 a compromise was reached under which Massachusetts and the other States would agree to ratify the document with the assurance that the amendments would be immediately proposed: The Bill of Rights. Nearly a year later the Constitution was ratified by the required 9 out of 13 States. Mr. Speaker, today we celebrate the rule of law and the success of a great experiment, representative democracy, the core principles upon which this Nation was built, laid out in a single document: The Constitution, the oldest enduring written national Constitution in the world, the granddaddy of them all.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, our judicial system is under attack. The weapon of choice? The filibuster. As cases back up in the Federal courts, some politicians are using the filibuster to prevent a vote on several highly-qualified, well- respected judicial nominees, and one of these nominees is William Pryor, highly-principled and well-qualified nominee for the Federal bench. Opponents to his nomination say that his personal views will prevent him from being an effective judge, but experience proves otherwise. His conduct during the Alabama Ten Commandments case has proven that his professionalism enables him to carry out and enforce current constitutional jurisprudence. In fact, it is his opponents who are allowing their personal views to stand in the way of carrying out the constitutional duty of filling Federal judicial vacancies. It is that intolerance of anyone who disagrees with their political views that has brought our judicial system to a halt, and that is not right.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, before September 11, 2 years ago, this Nation was unaware that terrorists were planning the most deadly attack in our history. Nearly 3,000 men, women and children were killed in an act of war, the most horrific act of violence many of us have ever seen. Tomorrow we will honor their memory. We should never forget why they died, because the agents of evil could not stand the freedom that our country represents. These enemies of freedom believed that we lacked the will to oppose them. They attacked our country and declared war on our way of life. Their intent is not our defeat, their intent is our destruction. I am proud of the way this country responded. I am proud of our troops who fought bravely to bring freedom to so many, and I am proud of our Commander in Chief who has led us in the war against terror with a steady hand. On this second anniversary, let us renew our resolve to rid the world of terrorism.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, my office, just like any other office here on the Hill, responds to thousands of constituent concerns each month. We spend a great deal of time responding in a timely planner to these letters, e-mails, and phone call requests; and this give and take is the hallmark of our democracy. Lately, I have been receiving more and more letters and e-mails sent by organizations supposedly on behalf of my constituents. One of these organizations recently sent a letter to my office from one of my constituents. The problem is that this constituent is a personal friend of mine who did not ask them to send a letter to me with his name on it. In fact, he did not even agree with the content of the letter. He simply signed up to receive e-mail updates. He told me in an e-mail last month that ``every week this group would send junk to the people on their list, and then ask you to forward it to your politicians. What a scam. I never forwarded any of that garbage.'' Yet one of those messages got to me with his name on it. It is outrageous that any group would send mass mailings to Members of Congress under false pretenses, deceptively putting someone's name on it without their knowledge or consent. We rely on the integrity of the mail so that we can reply in good faith; and when that good faith is undermined, it is shameful and a disgrace to the American democratic system.