Joseph Pitts

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, in the coming weeks, the State Department will be releasing its annual ``Trafficking in Persons report.'' This report will highlight the very serious problem of international sex trafficking and forced prostitution around the world in the countries that tolerate it. Still, some of the worst offenders such as India and Thailand have made no progress in combating this sex trafficking. Worse, it is on the rise. In India, over 2.3 million girls and women are believed to be working in the sex industry against their will. Yet there are no known convictions for sex trafficking. In Thailand, we are up to 1 million trafficking victims. Approximately 100,000 are children, boys and girls; yet there are no known convictions for sex trafficking. Mr. Speaker, this is unacceptable. Mr. Speaker, the complicity and tolerance of sex trafficking must stop. The State Department must not grant passing grades to these countries in its report until they show real improvement and begin to protect women and children in their country.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I thank the gentleman very much.

Mr. PITTS. I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana.

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I rise also in support of the bioterrorism conference report, and since PDUFA is included in this bill, I would like to enter into a colloquy with the chairman. Mr. Chairman, as you know, I am very interested in ensuring timely access to plasma therapies for the thousands of people who rely on these life-saving medicines. The plasma industry pays the fees authorized under PDUFA, yet there are no performance goals associated with plasma lot release, which must occur prior to these products being released by the FDA. Longer lot release times mean that the therapies do not get to patients in a timely manner. I strongly believe that the FDA should work with the plasma industry to assure greater predictability in lot release and to lessen the amount of time required for lot release. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the chairman to respond.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, there are people in Washington who treat politics like a sport, and sometimes it gets rough. That should be no surprise. But some things should be off limits. Mr. Speaker, for 8 months our country has been at war. It is a war that began when 19 evil men turned jumbo jets into missiles and killed 3,000 innocent people because they were Americans. Our President has led the world in a quest for justice. American soldiers are fighting and dying to keep the world safe, and President Bush has the awesome and heavy responsibility of commanding them. But there is an election around the bend and some of our friends on the other side of the aisle have decided it is time to start attacking the President. They are attacking him for not making predictions he could not reasonably have made. They are attacking him for not connecting the dots between thousands of intelligence briefings that none of them could have connected either. Mr. Speaker, this is wrong. When our fighting men and women are risking everything to keep us safe, the least we can do is to put partisanship aside.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Madam Chairman, I rise today in support of this legislation. In January, on January 2, with my colleagues, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall), I traveled to Afghanistan, met with Chairman Karzai and leaders. And let me offer my observations. Despite the fact that the Taliban are out of power, the people of Afghanistan continue to suffer. Many people still do not have enough to eat. Food aid is needed. Medical, educational assistance is needed. However, the Afghan people do not want to subsist on handouts. Instead, they desire the opportunity to work, to use their skills to provide for their families. Prior to the 1979 Soviet invasion, Afghanistan was self-sufficient and exported agriculture products to its neighbors. Before 1979, 80 percent of the society farmed the land. The skills are there, but development is needed in animal husbandry, irrigation system repair, drought assistance, and alternative crops to replace narcotics production. As we continue to help the people of Afghanistan in rebuilding their nation, our development assistance should focus on providing employment opportunities; helping with demining so that families can return to their homes and plant their fields; investing in rebuilding infrastructure so that people can get their goods to market; and supporting education, for children's needs are great. Predictions were that 5,000 refugees would return to their homes this year. Over 500,000 refugees have already returned, and the year is not even half over. Most refugees are returning to homes in rural areas and will need help to get back on their feet. In addition, our government should continue to clearly express its support for the interim government led by Chairman Karzai and the June Loya Jirga. As Chairman Karzai said in January during our meeting regarding our Nation's partnership, he said, ``Think of the help as help to our children. The families will do well if the children do well.'' Madam Chairman, in order to avoid another environment in which warlords and terrorists flourish, we must help the Afghan people as they rebuild their society. If the Afghan people do well, then our Nation will do well, their nation will do well; and we will avoid the situation that will produce more Taliban and terrorists.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, the same group of liberals is crying foul the same way they did 6 years ago. There is only one thing that has done more to keep people in poverty than the old welfare system did: Mr. Speaker, I am talking about teen pregnancy. Statistically speaking, when low-income teenage girls get pregnant, they are dooming themselves to a lifetime of poverty and they are dooming their kids to a lifetime of poverty. Now, some of them escape it and succeed despite the odds, but most do not. And, Mr. Speaker, there is only one way kids can avoid getting pregnant before they are ready, and that is to abstain from sex until they are married. Some of our liberal friends say it is unrealistic to expect kids to abstain from sex. Some even say that it is dangerous to teach abstinence. That tells me they do not believe in America's kids. They expect them to fail, and when we expect a kid to fail, that kid probably will fail. Let us be honest, the only real way to prevent our kids from getting STDs is to teach them to abstain until marriage. Now, I know a lot of kids who are saving themselves for marriage. I know them. They are proud of it. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has a good program, and I urge support of the bill.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah has made a lot of headlines lately promoting his own plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. But if Saudi Arabia really wants to help fight terrorism and foster peace in the Middle East, they should take a long look at what is going on in their own country. The Saudi Government not only permits, but also promotes, radical clerics who teach violence and hatred against Jewish people and the United States. Recently, a prominent Saudi Government cleric held a 2- day telethon that raised over $100 million for the families of Palestinian homicide bombers. The Washington Times reported last week that the Saudi Government itself paid millions of dollars to the families of homicide bombers and to terrorist groups like Hamas. USA Today reported in 1999 that Saudi businessmen had transferred billions of dollars to bank accounts linked to Osama bin Laden. There needs to be an investigation into where all of this money is coming from. Mr. Speaker, we should welcome Saudi Arabia's peaceful rhetoric, but actions speak louder than words. Saudi Arabia should be careful about lecturing about peace until her own hands are clean.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, we live in a world that has changed drastically since the 1950s. Couples are getting married later in life, and almost 40 percent of first marriages end in divorce. And yet every day, men and women all over the country pledge to spend their lives together. Despite what some people believe about marriage, the facts say one thing: Marriage is still the safest place for women. Mr. Speaker, studies from the Department of Justice show that never- married women are twice as likely to be abused by their partner than married women. Violence occurs more often in homes where the couples are unmarried compared to wed couples, with unmarried women three times more likely to become victims of violence than married women. Mr. Speaker, these are disturbing statistics. As we consider welfare reform in the coming days, we must encourage and support programs that will provide safety and security for women. It is clear that a society that promotes marriage promotes women.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I read in the paper recently about a woman from Hazelton, Pennsylvania, who was thrown in jail because she had three overdue library books. Theresa Keller's husband used her library card to check out three library books 2 years ago and never returned them. Well, not long afterwards, Mrs. Keller found herself living in a domestic violence shelter. She did not even know about the books. Nevertheless, the judge through her in jail for several days for failing to pay her library fines. Now, while all of this was happening, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that virtual child pornography was legal. It seems the Supreme Court thinks that everyone has a constitutional right to child pornography on the computer. So my question is this: How is it that the American judicial system is throwing women in jail for overdue library books but at the same time telling pornographers that they are free to continue to make child pornography on computers? Mr. Speaker, something is very wrong here.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition to the Sanchez amendment. For 6 years in a row, the House has rejected the Sanchez amendment. As the former chairwoman of Feminists For Life, Frederica Matthews- Green, said, abortion is violence. Abortion is the most violent form of death known to mankind. It is death by dismemberment, decapitation, ripping the body apart, or poisoning. And she said there are always two victims with an abortion: one is the mother, the other is the baby. One is dead; one is wounded. We should not be turning our military hospitals into abortion clinics. We should not be subsidizing with American taxpayer money military hospitals so that they can become abortion clinics. I urge Members to maintain the current law and vote ``no'' on the Sanchez amendment. Motion to Rise Offered by Mr. Roemer

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, last week the United Nations considered a new solution to the conflict over Western Sahara, a solution which basically gives Morocco control over Western Sahara. Mr. Speaker, everyone knows the Moroccan people do not have a democracy. The country is ruled by a king. They use torture in their prisons. The former king, father of the current king, established the notorious and hideously brutal Tazmamart prison camp in which he imprisoned and tortured his own family members. So how in the world will Morocco assure that democracy is protected for the Sahrawis? Mr. Speaker, I am deeply disturbed by reports that our U.S. Government now may be willing to throw away the rights of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination by supporting Moroccan claims of sovereignty to the land. It seems that our government is willing to bargain away fundamental human rights for cooperation with current agendas, after 10 years of advocating self-determination for Western Sahara. When our country no longer cares about the right to self- determination, a right on which our Nation was founded, it is a sad day, indeed. Mr. Speaker, this is a dangerous time to play with instability, particularly in North Africa.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, when Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah visited the President in Texas recently, he brought a prominent government cleric named Sheik Saad Al-Buraik with him in his entourage. I would like to share with the House of Representatives some of the statements Sheik Al-Buraik has said about America. He says, ``I am against America until this life ends, until the day of judgment. I am against America even if the stone liquefies. She is the root of all evils and wickedness on earth.'' And what does the Sheik have to say about Jews and Christians? He says, ``Don't take the Jews and Christians as allies. Do not have any mercy, neither compassion on the Jews, their blood, their money, or their flesh.'' Mr. Speaker, most shocking of all is what he has to say about Jewish women. He says to the Palestinians, ``Jewish women are yours to take, legitimately. God made them yours. Why don't you enslave their women? Why don't you wage jihad? Why don't you pillage them?'' Sheik Al-Buraik recently hosted a 2-day telethon in Saudi Arabia that raised over $100 million to reward the families of Palestinian homicide bombers. Mr. Speaker, Prince Abdullah says he wants to be part of the peace process. Well, we will be ready to listen when he dumps Sheik Al-Buraik from his list of friends and advisors.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, a week ago hundreds of my constituents watched something very sad in my district. A work crew placed a piece of sheet metal over a plaque depicting the Ten Commandments that hung on the wall of the Chester County Courthouse for over 80 years. The county commissioners did not want to do it, but a Federal judge ordered it. This week, a newspaper, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, all the way on the other end of the State, said the court's order was reminiscent of the Taliban and the Buddha statues, but I find it more disturbing than that. Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that computer child pornography was perfectly legal as long as real kids were not used making it. We can turn on the TV at 4:00 in the afternoon, watch Jerry Springer interview people about their most disgusting sexual activities. The American Nazi Party is told they have a constitutional right to march through a Jewish neighborhood in Illinois, but a plaque of the Ten Commandments is so offensive we have to cover it up. I am not exaggerating. The woman who sued our county said she was offended every time she went to the courthouse seeing the plaque. Mr. Speaker, something is very, very wrong with America's court system when child pornography is protected, can be viewed on computers, but the Ten Commandments have to be covered up.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, on this day 136 years ago, one of the predecessors from my congressional district, a man named Thaddeus Stevens, stood in this Chamber and introduced the 14th amendment to the Constitution. The Civil War was over, but African Americans still were not guaranteed the rights of citizens. The 13th amendment had banned slavery, but many States were still refusing basic rights to black people. In 1868, Thaddeus Stevens of Lancaster, Pennsylvania introduced the 14th amendment to fix that. His amendment guaranteed that all persons born in the United States were citizens, not just of this country, but also of the State where they lived. Thaddeus Stevens fought hard for the 14th amendment. However, the 14th amendment was not enough for him. He wanted full equality among the races, but that was too much for his contemporaries. Disappointed, Stevens said that he would ``Take all I can get in the cause of humanity and leave it to be perfected by better men in better times.'' Stevens died soon afterwards and was buried in the only cemetery in Lancaster that did not discriminate. His tombstone reads this way: ``I repose in this quiet and secluded spot, that I might illustrate in my death the principes which I advocated through a long life: equality of man before his Creator.'' Mr. Speaker, Thaddeus Stevens was a great man indeed.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to have my name removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 2142.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today regarding the King of Morocco's visit to our Nation's Capital this week. I ask the King to reflect on the statement he made to Secretary Powell earlier that Powell should ``consider the plight of the Palestinian people.'' Yes, our Nation must act on behalf of justice for all people. But should not the King of Morocco do that as well? What would the King say about the hundreds and thousands of Sahrawi people who have disappeared or are languishing in prison? What would the King say about the Sahrawis living in the occupied territory of Western Sahara who are arrested or shot or killed by Moroccan security officials for their peaceful protests about Morocco's policies? Mr. Speaker, I would ask the King of Morocco to seriously consider the policies of his own country, policies that have oppressed and persecuted the Sahrawis so that they have had to live in refugee camps in the harsh Sahara Desert for over 25 years. Their government's policy should also ensure that the Sahrawi people are guaranteed their rights and get their property returned.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Madam Speaker, the economy is on the rebound. Most of our key economic indicators are showing good news, but one thing is hanging heavy on the economy. The collapse of Enron has shaken America's faith in American corporations and accounting practices. Even the stock market is suffering because of this. Congress needs to address this. This week we will be voting on the Corporate and Auditing Accountability, Responsibility, and Transparency Act. This bill will improve corporate responsibility, reform accounting oversight, and increase corporate disclosure. Americans need to know that the companies they are investing in are reporting their finances honestly. Americans need to know that their finances will be protected, and Americans need to know that they can diversify their 401(k)s so they can protect themselves from investments that do not do as well as expected. Madam Speaker, I call on my colleagues to pass this important bill and tell every American that we care about honesty and integrity than we care about their retirement.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, killing innocent civilians to achieve a political goal is unacceptable under any circumstance. But now we have received word that the United Nations Human Rights Commission has voted to condemn the State of Israel for a long list of supposed human rights violations without even once mentioning Palestinian violence. Worse than that, the resolution supports, and I quote, ``all available means, including armed struggle,'' to establish a Palestinian State. Now, the United States is on record of supporting an eventual Palestinian state. But we also know what ``armed struggle'' means in the current environment in the Middle East. It means a 17-year-old girl being promised all the glories of heaven if she will just strap a bomb to herself and go kill a bunch of innocent Israelis. It is shocking that the U.N. Human Rights Commission would endorse violence against civilians. I think we should thank those countries who voted against this resolution, but we should express anger at the 40 countries who voted for it, including six from Europe. It is an outrage. As far as I am concerned, the U.N. Human Rights Commission has lost all of its credibility.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, America is a wonderful and diverse country. We have people of every kind living here, who belong to different political parties and go to different kinds of churches. Likewise we have many kinds of families. But there is one thing just about every family has in common. Parents love their children. The job of a parent is to raise and nurture his or her child until that child reaches adulthood. The way parents do this is by setting rules and making decisions that will affect their kids for the rest of their lives. They teach values and principles. They teach their kids the difference between right and wrong. They teach them manners and pass on their faith to them. As a child grows and gets older, mom and dad begin to help their teenagers make their own responsible decisions. Eventually, when a person turns 18 or so, we treat them as an adult. Even the law recognizes that when a person turns 18, they can make their own decision about just about everything except perhaps purchasing alcohol. This is the way it is. This is the way it should be. Mr. Speaker, my wife and I had three wonderful kids who long ago left the nest, who are now full grown and responsible adults. When they were little my wife and I did our very best to teach our kids the values that we had learned, that we had learned from our parents. Our greatest desire was that our own kids by the time they left home would be ready to make their own choices and not get themselves in trouble. I think most parents feel that way. Every parent wants their kids to be able to make good decisions. But until they are full grown, they want to be there to help them make the hard decision. And, if need be, to step in and prevent their son or daughter from making a bad decision they will regret for the rest of their lives. Sometimes kids get into trouble. That is just the way it is. Parents should be there to help them learn the lessons that will keep them from getting into trouble again. Mr. Speaker, this is not just a parent's right. It is a parent's duty. This bill was written to protect that right and that duty. As you can see in this advertisement from the Yellow Pages in my district, abortion clinics go out of their way to advertise to girls that they do not need their parents' permission to have an abortion. I am pro-life. We are not here today to debate pro-life versus pro- choice. We are here today to protect America's families. We are here today to guarantee the right of mom and dad to act as the legal, moral and ethical guardian of their children. I served in the Pennsylvania legislature when we passed this parental consent law. In Pennsylvania, we require the consent of one or two parents. And in case there is a breakdown between the partners and child, we have a judicial bypass where the child can go confidentially before a judge to get a decision. This law was designed because of a case that occurred in Pennsylvania in 1995. At that time, a 12-year-old young girl was impregnated by an 18-year-old male. The mother of that boy took the 12-year-old girl to a neighboring State, New York, without her parents' consent or knowledge for an abortion, secretly. It is outrageous that in America, a stranger who does not know the child or her medical history can take that child out of State for a secret abortion. I urge my colleagues to vote for this important bill and to show the moms and dads of America that Congress still knows what it means to be a loving, caring family. In closing, if you look at the ads, this is taken from the Yellow Pages in the State capital of Harrisburg. It says, no parental consent, no parental consent. They are doing this in violation of our State law. I urge the adoption of the bill.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, tragically, Israelis and Palestinians are once again in a spiral of violence. President Bush said recently that when a Palestinian girl kills herself in order to murder an Israeli girl of her own age, the future is dying. No boy or girl should ever have to die in a terrorist attack and no boy or girl should ever be misled by fanatics to go off on a suicide mission. Mr. Speaker, too many Israelis and Palestinians have died and too many Palestinian kids have been turned into fanatics by the terrorists who have hijacked the Palestinian cause. As the President said, strapping a bomb around your waist and killing people is not an act of martyrdom, it is an act of murder. Yesterday it was reported that the Saudi ambassador to Britain has written a lavish poem praising a young homicide bomber as ``the bride of loftiness.'' He says, ``The doors of heaven are opened for her.'' Mr. Speaker, this is an outrage. Here is a leader, an ambassador no less, encouraging children to commit murder. There will be no peace in the Middle East until this kind of irresponsible rhetoric stops. The international community should condemn this kind of talk with a loud and united voice.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, yesterday millions of Americans lined up at post offices all over the country to get their taxes in on time. And once again, as this poster illustrates, the average American family spent more on taxes last year than food, clothing, shelter, and transportation combined. Once again, the average wage earner spends the first 3 hours of an 8- hour working day laboring just to pay his taxes. Once again, the equivalent of every paycheck from January to the middle of May goes just to pay taxes. Mr. Speaker, last year we joined the President in passing much-needed tax relief for the American people. But because of opposition from the big spenders in the other body, there is a sunset clause in the law. In other words, unless we vote to make the tax cuts permanent, everyone will get a big tax hike, the marriage penalty tax will come back, the death tax will come back, the child tax credit will be cut in half, IRAs will be cut by $3,000, and the economy will suffer. This week we will vote on a bill to prevent this from happening. I urge my colleagues to support the effort to make the tax relief permanent for the American people.

Mr. PITTS

Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, if we look at the wall around us, we see medallions of famous law givers. We see profiles of Hammurabi, Napoleon, and Madison. But dead center facing forward, full face, is the greatest of all law givers, Moses. Moses, who received the Ten Commandments engraved on two tablets, the 10 laws that form the legal and moral foundations of Western Civilization itself. Back home in Chester County, Pennsylvania, we also honor the Ten Commandments; and for over 80 years, the plaque listing the Ten Commandments has hung on the outside wall of our county courthouse. But now a Federal judge wants the plaque removed. He says it violates the separation of church and state. I have read the Constitution. I have never seen anything about a ban on the Ten Commandments in the Constitution. James Madison, the author of the first amendment, which guarantees freedom of religion, said, ``We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.'' Mr. Speaker, we should pass the Ten Commandments Defense Act.

Mr. PITTS

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

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