Jack Quinn

Mr. QUINN

Mr. QUINN. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word, and I thank the gentleman from Ohio for allowing me the opportunity to talk just for a few minutes about the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, otherwise known as LIHEAP. I want to thank the subcommittee for the $1.7 billion in regular and the $300 million in emergency appropriations for LIHEAP in this bill. This is a generous increase over the President's request, and I believe it will make a significant difference in the lives of many poor people this winter. The amendment I would have submitted, but which I will withdraw and have withdrawn, would have made advance appropriations for $2 million for LIHEAP for fiscal year 2003, guaranteeing the State LIHEAP administrators a firm figure upon which to plan their advances for next winter. Although there is language in the 2002 budget resolution allowing advance appropriations for LIHEAP, the Committee on Rules this past week did not grant a waiver and the amendment was ruled out of order. We all know that these LIHEAP funds are most efficiently used when the State LIHEAP administrators know how much money they are going to get before they open up their programs. Winter heating programs need to be prepared for in August before the appropriations have been made. We seem to fight this battle and have the discussion each year. Winter heating seasons, particularly when the appropriations process has been delayed beyond the beginning of the fiscal year, need to begin before the funding generally arrives. Mr. Chairman, advance appropriations would allow the LIHEAP administrators to know prior to the beginning of the fiscal year what resources they will have to work with. They could therefore plan for a certain amount of money, determine how many applicants they will be able to help, stretch each dollar to its maximum extent, and provide a measure of reassurance for households who very well may have to choose between heat and food. This is of particular concern this year. I would like to remind my colleagues that the LIHEAP cases were up 30 percent last winter, but most States were only able to help about 15 percent of their applicants. In the emergency appropriations bill passed this summer, there was $300 million in LIHEAP funding. This money should have been distributed immediately to help the families with children and the elderly who were unable to pay for their heating bills from last winter. The Department of Health and Human Services has signed off on the money; but because OMB has not released the funding, these people are in even worse situation than they were this past summer. Still behind in their bills, still cut off, some of them, from heat, gas, and electricity, and winter is at our doorstep. I would like to urge the House to press for the release of these emergency LIHEAP funds by OMB immediately and also to allow advance appropriations for this vital and important program next year. I want to thank the chairman, on behalf of the Northeast-Midwest coalition here in the House, made up of States in our region, Members of both parties, for his attention to this matter.

Mr. QUINN

Mr. QUINN. Madam Speaker, October 16 is United Nations World Food Day. This annual event, as we know, seeks to raise awareness for the problem of hunger around the world, as well as to provide a plan to address and make a significant reduction in the number of people who are without food. This year's theme, Fight Hunger To Reduce Poverty underscores the U.N.'s belief that fighting hunger is the first step in reducing poverty. In conjunction with the food bank of Western New York and Buffalo, we are honored to sponsor a Columbus Day food raiser Monday, October 8. Food and money donated to this event will go towards supplying families in our area food items over the holiday and Thanksgiving times. In my district and throughout the region, the food bank is dedicated to feeding hungry people, providing over 90,000 individuals with close to a million meals per month. Madam Speaker, I would encourage all of our colleagues to work with their local relief organizations to continue to fight hunger.

Mr. QUINN

Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from Alaska yielding time. I also want to begin by thanking the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young); the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar); and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Clement), my partner on the Subcommittee on Railroads, for the work that has been done, 2 long years now. I also want to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sam Johnson) for his observations. We bring this bill forward, this afternoon, Mr. Speaker, in a real spirit of bipartisanship. A couple of our speakers have already mentioned that this is 2 years in the works. We have back and forth talked about the interests, particularly since the new administration has come into town, about not confusing this issue with Social Security. My esteemed colleague, the gentleman from Texas, suggests that we pick out the letter J in somebody's last name for Social Security. I would like to suggest that we use the letter J in somebody's first name, in my father's name who was a railroad worker for 35 years and in my grandfather's name when he came from Ireland and began to work on the railroad when he first came to America. I do not have a personal ax to grind in this discussion this afternoon, Mr. Speaker; but I can tell the gentleman from Texas, I can tell anybody else who wants to listen, that I know a little bit about railroaders and their families. We have not tried to structure this bill this afternoon to give anybody an unfair advantage. We have not structured it to give anybody an opportunity to take advantage of the Social Security fund. We are not talking, Mr. Speaker, about tier 1. We are talking only about tier 2 money. This is the workers' own money. This is their money. We have described it to our friends as we have talked on the subcommittee and we have had 380 to 400 cosponsors almost. It is like this commonsense approach, that if you have money in the bank and you decided to take it from the bank and put it in a mutual fund, you would not be spending that money on a car, you would not be depositing the money at the front doorstep of the bank, and you would not be raiding anybody else's money, such as the Social Security system. What we have tried to do in this bipartisan effort these last 2 years is to strike a balance. We would like to say that we can get rail labor and rail management together with retired workers on the railroads and their widows and widowers to say that we will let you do what you think is best with that portion of the money that does not affect Social Security. The provision reflects a commonsense approach that trading in a bank account for a retirement savings account is not the same as taking that money in the bank account and spending it on a car. It is just not the same. I want to thank the Members that have worked with us these past 2 years, particularly in the last 3 or 4 months, and most particularly the last 24 hours, to get us through a discussion with the administration, with those people who disagree with some of the things that we have talked about, but disagree respectfully. Finally, I would like to thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Clement) both for their efforts these long 2 years, particularly the last 4 or 5 months. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' when they have an opportunity this afternoon.

Mr. QUINN

Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory of Mr. Robert L. Wilson, founder of Every Person Influences Children (EPIC). Mr. Wilson founded EPIC in 1980, following the tragic death of his wife, Linda in 1977. Mrs. Wilson was murdered by a troubled 15-year-old boy that the Wilson family had befriended. EPIC was founded to work with youth to help ensure that this type of tragedy would not be repeated. Despite its modest beginnings, the EPIC organization has emerged as one of our Nation's most successful parent/children's programs. The organization is devoted to helping children grow up to become responsible adults, and helps parents and teachers work more effectively with children, influence them in positive ways and guide them toward responsible, safe decision-making. In recognition of its worthy goals and many successes, our federal government has committed millions in grants to EPIC. The overwhelming success of EPIC, its tremendous growth, and the strong impact it has had in our Western New York community is testimony to Mr. Wilson's leadership, commitment and integrity. I am truly thankful for his strong example of service. As a community, our chief concern must always be our children. Mr. Wilson's focus on helping children become responsible adults must continue to be one of our highest priorities. I will continue to fight for this excellent program, and would encourage my colleagues to join with me in this effort. EPIC is an outstanding program that helps kids everyday. Now, it is also a lasting legacy to a man whose vision and work inspires us all. Mr. Speaker, today I join with the Western New York community, and communities all across America to honor Mr. Robert L. Wilson for his dedicated service and leadership. Mr. Wilson is survived by his wife, Sarah; four daughters, Linda Stephenson, Terry Vaughan, Margaret Kerr and Hope Hawkins; a sister, Margaret Dodd; fifteen grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. I would like to convey to his family my deepest sympathies, and ask my colleagues in the House of Representatives to join with me in a moment of silence.

Mr. QUINN

Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall Nos. 286, 287, 288, and 289 I was unavoidably detained in the district while at Georgetown University on family educational business.

Mr. QUINN

Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share a few remarks about the dumping of foreign steel into U.S. markets. Recently, the Korea Iron and Steel Association dispatched a steel trade mission to the United States to convey the Korean steel makers concern over the United States movement to restrict imports of steel products, as well as to learn the position of the United States government and steel industry. This mission visited the USTR, Department of Commerce, the ITC and the American Iron and Steel Institute to express the Korean industry's concerns over the United States' stance on the recent start of a section 201 antidumping investigation. Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that the U.S. steel industry is in crisis. As one who represents thousands of people whose livelihood relies on the steel industry, I can assure you that the injury suffered by the U.S. industry and the people it supports is very real. The steel crisis has produced casualties at every level in America's steel communities. As a result of the most recent wave of dumped steel imports, over 23,000 good steel jobs have been lost and 18 steel companies have filed for bankruptcy since the beginning of 1998. Anyone who thinks that these problems are a thing of the past that were cured by the last round of steel orders should know that ten of those 18 bankruptcies have occurred in the last 8 months. Several thousand workers, beyond those laid off, were forced to accept reduced work weeks, assignments to lower paying jobs, and early retirement. For those workers affected, alternative employment opportunities in the surrounding area are hard to come by, and those who do find other manufacturing jobs are often paid significantly less than what they previously made. The effects of these losses are felt right down the line--by workers' families and by other community businesses that simply cannot survive if their customers can no longer earn a paycheck. Mr. Speaker, dumping has become such a problem because foreign producers are able to sell well below market in the United States because their own home markets are closed to competition, allowing them to maintain high at-home prices to subsidize losses abroad. In addition, subsidization of foreign producers by their governments is a primary reason why massive overcapacity in the world steel industry has been created and sustained. The structural problems in the world steel market have been created largely by the illegal practices of foreign producers, and the U.S. industry should not be forced to suffer as a result.

Mr. QUINN

Mr. QUINN. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Sanders- Quinn-Kind amendment to increase funding for low-income weatherization and energy efficiency. What we do in this amendment is fairly simple. Most significantly, we increase weatherization by $24 million which would bring overall funding up to the Bush administration requested level of $273 million. Weatherization is a program that is proven and really works to increase energy conservation. Through this program, low income families save $200 a year in heating costs, and these modest savings can be used for other important family needs such as food, clothing, housing and other basic necessities of life. In addition, we increase overall state conservation programs by $12 million, and increases the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program by $12 million. We would offset these increases by cutting the Fossil Fuel R&D program by $52 million. Last year's amendment on this issue passed by a voice vote, and I hope that this year we will have a similar level of support from this Body. I urge Members to pass the Sanders-Quinn amendment.

Mr. QUINN

Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in tribute to our former colleague, Joe Moakley. All the stories and praise we are hearing this morning on the Floor are all sincere and well-deserved, because Joe was the kind of Member that we would all like to be: smart, well informed, energetic, good humored and always a gentleman. I was proud to call Joe a friend, and we had worked with each other since I entered Congress. The one issue we worked very closely on together was LIHEAP. Joe was dedicated to making sure the amount of money to help low income people was increased, and he was a tireless crusader on this issue. Members on both sides of the aisle respected Joe. No one doubted his genuine concern for people, and that he always fought for what he thought was right. Even in the face of his illness, Joe never gave up fighting for his constituents. His district, the Congress, and the Nation have lost a very dedicated public servant. He will be greatly missed, and I send my prayers to his family, friends and staff.

Mr. QUINN

Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, as all Americans prepare to celebrate the Memorial Day weekend, I think it is appropriate for all of us to take some time and reflect on the sacrifice that those men and women, past and present, who served our country have made. This weekend, the movie Pearl Harbor will open throughout the Nation. Once again, Americans of all ages will be reminded of this tragedy, as well as the bravery and courage our service men and women demonstrated. President Franklin Roosevelt declared it, ``A day that will live in infamy.'' In the pre-dawn hours of December 7, 1941, the United States Pacific Fleet was destroyed by a sneak attack of the Japanese Imperial Army. Nearly 2400 military and civilian lives were lost as a result of the surprise attack and more than 1000 were wounded. The attack forced the United States into World War II, and was the first time the United States had been directly attacked since the War of 1812. It is a moment that is forever frozen in our Nation's consciousness. I have introduced a bill, H.R. 157, that would designate December 7th as a Federal holiday. This legislation would serve as not only a tribute to those men and women who served and lost their lives at Pearl Harbor, but also all those who defended and fought for our Nation during World War II. This week, Congress gave final approval to the much-anticipated World War II Memorial on the Mall, and this would be a fitting companion. I hope all Members will join me in celebrating the memory and sacrifice of these brave Americans by co-sponsoring H.R. 157.

Mr. QUINN

Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1727, the Fallen Hero Survivor Benefit Act. Under the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, survivor benefits are paid to the spouse and children of a slain public safety officer only if the officer was killed on or before December 31, 1996. H.R. 1727 would extend the inclusion to survivor benefits regardless of when the officer died. It will provide $46 million in tax relief over 10 years to the families of officers killed in the line of duty. On average, one law enforcement officer is killed every 57 hours. Since 1991, there have been 1,555 federal, state and local law enforcement fatalities, 72 percent of those officers killed were married. For every officer killed, 1.85 children lost a parent. Two police officers from my district of Buffalo, New York were killed in two years while honoring their duties. Officer Robert M. McClennan was hit by a car and killed while in pursuit of a suspect. Officer Charles ``Skip'' McDougal was off duty when he was brutally gunned down on the East Side of Buffalo. He left behind a wife and children. Too many families are left in this dire situation with out the help they need. While we cannot possibly remedy the emotional suffering these families have endured, we can help alleviate some of the financial hardship by passing this important legislation.

Mr. QUINN

Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res 116. It is appropriate that we consider this during National Police Week. Since the first recorded police death in 1792, there have been more than 15,000 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. On average more than 62,000 law enforcement officers are assaulted each year and some 21,000 are injured annually. Thousands of law enforcement officers and their families gathered today here at the Capitol and at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund to honor those who lost their lives in the line of duty. I support the establishment of a Peace Officers Memorial Day to honor the men and women killed or disabled while serving their country on the federal, state, and local level. H. Res. 116 is a tribute to the men and women who lost their lives in order to protect our communities. This is the least we can do to honor these brave Americans.

Mr. QUINN

Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 10, the Comprehensive Retirement Security and Pension Reform Act. This comprehensive legislation is an excellent first step toward rectifying the severe retirement savings shortfall in this country. Clearly we need to do more to prepare for our futures. IRA's, 401(k)s, and other tax-favored retirement plans are one way to do so. At present, half of our nation's workforce, practically 75 million Americans, lack access to a 401(k)-type plan or any kind of pension. IRA contribution limits have been frozen at the $2,000 limit since 1981. I applaud Congressmen Portman and Cardin for creating this package that will allow Americans to set more aside in IRA or 401(k)- type plans, modernize pension laws, and provide regulatory relief to encourage more small businesses to offer retirement plans. By allowing individuals to increase their contribution limit for both traditional and Roth IRA's to $5,000 over the next three years, gives them the potential for a sound economic future. This legislation would allow so many working Americans the opportunity to better themselves, their families and their future. Also by including catch-up provisions granting individuals who are over 50 to increase their contribution for IRA's to $5,000 next year, provides these individuals to chance for a better retirement. In today's society, we are living longer and healthier lives. Current statistics indicate that one-fifth of today's 35-year-olds who reach retirement can expect to live into their 90's. This evidence clearly demonstrates that Americans will outlive their retirement savings. Therefore, it is crucial that Congress can provide Americans, who have worked hard to support themselves and their families, every opportunity possible to achieve a financially secure retirement. I would urge my colleagues to support this landmark legislation that would expand access to private pensions and increase flexibility for families to save for their retirement.

Mr. QUINN

Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and pay tribute to the Kalina Singing Society of my Congressional district on the occasion of its 100th Anniversary. Founded in Buffalo, New York on March 1, 1901, the Kalina Singing Society is a women's chorus founded under the auspices of the Polish Singing Circle and a member of the Polish Singers' Alliance of America. For the past 100 years, it has proudly promoted American and Polish culture through song, and has garnered a fine reputation as an outstanding performance group. Throughout its rich history, and still today, the Kalina Singing Society has promoted the Arts, as well as our City's rich cultural heritage. They have performed countless concerts, operettas, recitals, guest appearances, joint concerts, and holiday offerings, and have participated in national competition. The Kalina Singing Society has continued to exhibit a strong and dedicated commitment to the Polish-American community, the City of Buffalo, and to the spirit of community service and volunteerism that has always been the hallmark of our Western New York community. Mr. Speaker, today I join with the group's membership, and indeed, our entire Western New York community, to honor the Kalina Singing Society on this historic anniversary. On behalf of the Thirtieth Congressional district of the State of New York, I want to formally extend my enthusiastic commendation, and offer my personal best wishes for the Kalina's second century.

Mr. QUINN

Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, I am very saddened to rise today in memory of Petty Officer 2nd Class Scott Chism and Seaman Chris Ferreby. As seamen assigned to the Coast Guard Station of Niagara, these two young men tragically lost their lives serving their community and their nation. This tragedy happened on a routine patrol voyage in which Scott Chism and Chris Ferreby, along with fellow crewmembers Michael Moss and William Simpson, were tossed into the frigid waters of Lake Ontario when their boat was overturned by a large wave. Scott Chism had served three years and seven months in the Coast Guard. With the upcoming completion of his enlistment, he and his wife had planned to return to California. He leaves behind his wife, Lissa, a daughter, Kelsey, and a son, Caleb. Chris Ferreby was raised outside of Rochester, in Fairport. He is survived by a wife, Amy and a newborn child, Tyler. Amy recalls her husband as being able to ``always make you laugh'' and willing to ``do anything for his friends.'' Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of these two men. Their heroism, bravery and selfless dedication to our country will not be forgotten.

Mr. QUINN

Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank the greatest goaltender of all time, Dominik Hasek, for his most generous gift to the city of Buffalo, NY. Yesterday, the Dominator provided $1 million--the largest single donation ever by a Buffalo athlete--to establish his own charitable foundation called Hasek's Heroes. The money will be used to create a hockey and skating program for underprivileged Buffalo youth. The program, to go into effect in September, will be overseen by a board of directors and operated by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo. The program will include a USA Hockey-certified coaching staff, and will initially be open to children ages 6-14. The plan is to expand the program to those 18 and younger and establish teams that will play a competitive schedule throughout the region. In closing, I want to once again thank the Dominator for becoming a Donator, and as a loyal Sabres fan I look forward to watching him shutdown the rest of the Eastern Conference in the upcoming NHL playoffs.

Mr. QUINN

Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, I am honored today to pay tribute to my friend, Rev. Dr. Bennett Walker Smith, Sr. for his forty years of service in the ministry. As Pastor of Saint John Baptist Church on Goodell in the City of Buffalo, Rev. Smith leads one of the largest and most vibrant congregations in all of Western New York. His steady message of service to God and community has inspired us all. Throughout his remarkable life, Rev. Smith has been actively engaged in social and political change which has served to enhance the lives of all people, and African Americans in particular. His early years in the civil rights movement were shared with the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the late Reverend Ralph Abernathy, and the Reverend Jessie Jackson. Within our Western New York community, Rev. Smith has taken a truly active role in the enhancement of the City of Buffalo. Under his leadership, St. John Baptist Church has built McCarley Gardens and the St. John Senior Citizens Tower, over 300 units in all, which provide housing for our community's seniors. It has also constructed the St. John Christian Academy that provides outstanding educational opportunity to over 250 students. I am honored to be working with him and St. John Baptist Church toward the completion of the next project, a Family Life Center that will provide a host of educational, health, and social services to our community. In recognition of his service Rev. B.W. Smith has been honored as a member of ``Who's Who in Religion,'' Ebony's ``100 Most Influential Black Americans,'' and by the NCCJ, and has received the prestigious Evans-Young Award from the Buffalo Urban League. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to join with the congregation of St. John Baptist Church and our entire Western New York community in recognition of the commitment to God, dedicated service, and leadership of Rev. Dr. B.W. Smith. I am honored to bring his great work to the attention of my colleagues and to this honorable body.

Mr. QUINN

Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, in this time of unprecedented budget surpluses, the first and most important responsibility Congress has is to protect Social Security and Medicare, and the senior citizens they serve. On February 13th, the House of Representatives took this first step when it overwhelmingly passed H.R. 2, the Social Security and Medicare Lockbox Act of 2001. I was proud to support this bill, as I did last year. H.R. 2 prevents any other legislation or amendment from dipping into Social Security or Medicare Trust Fund Surpluses. This proposed lockbox would ensure that trust fund surpluses can only be spent on their intended uses of retirement and health care security. Until we enact Social Security and Medicare reform legislation, which I hope we will do in this Congress, all trust fund surpluses will be used to pay down the national debt. The money cannot be used for any other programs or spending projects, period. Before we consider tax cuts, we owe our seniors no less than this.

Mr. QUINN

Mr. QUINN. Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Chairman, before I rise in support of our bill this morning, I would like to welcome the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Clement) as my partner on the new Subcommittee on Railroads. As I think almost everyone in the House realizes this year, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure added a separate Subcommittee on Railroads. The gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Clement) and I have been friends for quite some time on the full committee; and I am delighted to join with him this next term, the next couple of years, to bring legislation to the floor. While we are not able to do commercial breaks here, I would like to offer to Mr. Clement a copy of Stephen Ambrose's book entitled ``Nothing Like It in the World,'' which talks about the men and the women who built the Transcontinental Railroad between 1863 and 1869, as a reference tool. Having been an English teacher, I say to the gentleman, there will not be any quiz, but I have my own copy of this. As we work our way through those difficult, difficult subcommittee hearings of ours, we will find some time to remember why we do the work we do when we see how the people did it for us some century-and-a-half ago.

Mr. QUINN. I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee.

Mr. QUINN. Madam Chairman, I rise in support of the Rail Passenger Disaster Family Assistance Act, a commonsense bipartisan bill to address a gap in our current transportation laws. The bill is substantially identical to H.R. 2681 approved by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in the full House, I might add, in our last 106th Congress, but never acted upon by the other body in the Senate. I am pleased that this is the first piece of legislation from our committee under our new chairman, the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young). As chairman of the newly formed Subcommittee on Railroads, I strongly support the bill, and urge our colleagues to do the same. Members may recall that several years ago after some terrible, terrible incidents, most notably the 1996 ValuJet and TWA crashes, the families of crash victims were poorly treated by the carriers, the media, and by some lawyers. The Congress responded by enacting an aviation law that placed the National Transportation Safety Board and suitable private charitable organizations in charge of coordinating efforts to protect the privacy of crash victims' families, and to assure that they receive the most current information possible from the carrier. The law has been quite successful in improving the situation for crash victims' families. Since its enactment, it has been updated and expanded in 1997, and again in 1999. Today, H.R. 554, this bill that the gentleman from Tennessee and I bring to the floor, is virtually a clone of that aviation law, but it is applied to rail passenger service, both intercity and high-speed rail. Although Amtrak is currently the principal provider of intercity rail passenger service, a number of States are considering forming compacts to support their own bid for rail passenger services. We understand that, Madam Chairman, necessarily this bill cannot track the aviation statute exactly. We understand that. For example, some passenger trains with unreserved open boarding situations will not have a definite passenger manifest sheet comparable to an airline passenger list. Generally, however, this bill follows the aviation model. The National Transportation Safety Board is given the authority to invoke the procedures of the bill, including designating the NTSB Director of Family Support Services for the accident as a point of contact for all the families, and to act as liaison between the families and the passenger carrier. The NTSB has also authorized a designated independent charitable organization, for example, the American Red Cross, for coordinating emotional care and support activities for the families. NTSB is also made primarily responsible at the Federal level for facilitating recovery and identification of victims, and providing relevant information to the same families. The rail carrier itself in this bill is required to cooperate with the designated charitable organization to provide mental health and counseling services to the families, provide for a private grieving environment, to maintain contact with the families, and also to arrange any appropriate memorial service. The NTSB is also required to give prior briefings to the families before public disclosure of any information about the accident. Unsolicited attorney contacts with the families or victims themselves, other than the railroad employees, are prohibited for 45 days following the accident. To ensure that the rail and passenger carriers are prepared to implement the law in the event of an accident, the bill requires each carrier to prepare a response plan and to submit that plan to the Department of Transportation and the NTSB within 6 months of enactment detailing how the carrier will carry out the specific family assistance obligations under the law. Let me also note for the Record, Madam Chairman, that when the substantially identical bill was reviewed by the Congressional Budget Office, CBO stated in its estimate in August of 1999 that this legislation ``would have no significant impact on the Federal budget.'' As to intergovernmental mandates, CBO found that the bill would not require States to change laws or take action. There would be no significant State costs, and these or any costs involved would not meet the threshold minimum of the Unfunded Mandates Act reform. The details of these evaluations, of course, are printed in the report of the predecessor bill on House Report 106-313. I urge prompt approval and careful consideration of a very bipartisan commonsense approach. Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. QUINN. Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would like to thank the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Clement). I also would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff on our side and his side for preparing the legislation this morning. While we will receive a lot of advice during the course of his term, in the next few years I am expecting advice from the gentleman and his staff, from my staff and others, but I am also expecting some advice from one Jack Quinn, Senior, back home in Buffalo, New York, who put in over 30 years at the South buffalo Railroad, who will also offer me some advice, and offered me a little this morning already. He called to say that I need a haircut. As we go through this, I look forward to working with the gentleman from Tennessee.

Mr. QUINN. Madam Chairman, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. QUINN

Mr. QUINN. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for his leadership on this issue. We were going to invite the Massachusetts Republican delegation down here to speak today, but, you know, that does not exist. There have been a couple of great Republicans in the Congress from Massachusetts. Of course, the great Silvio Conte and Mr. Torkelson, who my colleagues took care of and Mr. Blute, who my colleagues took care of, and so we are without a Massachusetts Republican delegation. But, nonetheless, I rise this morning to represent all of the Members on our side of the aisle in talking about Joe Moakley for a couple of minutes here this morning. A good thing, as the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) pointed out, is that sooner or later everybody will have a chance to talk about us, sooner or later; some sooner, some later. But by doing this naming today, we get a chance to talk this morning about a good friend in Joe Moakley. I want to talk to Joe this morning, not about him, because he is with us. I do not want to talk to him. I want to thank Joe Moakley personally for the work he has done with me on our weatherization and our LHEAP program where we have been able to restore some money back into this Federal budget to take care of people who have to make decisions about whether or not they are going to heat their homes or put food on the table; not an easy decision, not an easy road to hoe for people in the northeastern part of our country. Joe and I have teamed up together to do that these last couple of years, and I have learned from Joe Moakley more in these last couple of years than all of my years in education, all my years in government, all my years in public life. And I do not know Joe Moakley's district exactly, but I will tell you, Joe, and I know you like to be called a regular guy, which you are, but I have a feeling that that district back there in Massachusetts when you care about the rest of the regular guys, you are caring about the teachers. You are caring about the cab drivers and the truck drivers. You are caring about the electricians and the carpenters. You are caring about the people that really make this country what it is. And I, for one, want to thank you for doing that. I also want to let you know, Joe, whether you know it or not, you have taught a lot of us here in the House on both sides of the aisle, not only to be Members of Congress, but how to act as respectful gentlemen and from all of us, we appreciate that.

Mr. QUINN

Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, it is indeed an honor for me to welcome Father Monsignor Jerome Sullivan, as the Speaker pointed out, but back home in Wanakah, Clover Bank, and Hamburg, New York, he prefers to be referred to as Father Jerry. We are honored to have Father Jerry with us this morning to offer these opening remarks. I know that, as a parishioner of his now for over 20 years, when he suggests to the Members, when he suggests to the audience, and then to the country this morning, that we listen to each other and that we show respect for each other, it is the same exact thing that he suggests of his parishioners back at St. Mary of the Lake. I know all of us who work here in Washington, D.C., on both sides of the aisle, in both Chambers, know that we should do a little bit more listening, and we should make certain that we respect each other. Father Jerry, we appreciate your remarks this morning. We could use you here in Washington, D.C.; but we sure are glad you are at St. Mary of the Lake.