Jim Ramstad

Mr. RAMSTAD

Mr. RAMSTAD. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. RAMSTAD. I again appreciate the gentleman's comments. One of those troops lived not far from me in a neighboring community in Minnesota. Lance Corporal Jonathan Schultze, a brave, proud marine who had returned from combat in Iraq, went to the VA suffering from PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as alcoholism. He was told that there were no beds available at the VA, and he would be number 26 on the waiting list, that he will get a call in weeks, probably several months. Well, 4 days later, Marine Lcpl Jonathan Schultze was found in his apartment hanging, hanging from an electrical cord. Just one victim, one brave marine who didn't have to die after sacrificing so much for his country in Iraq, one brave veteran who didn't receive the mental health treatment he needed and deserved. And I thank my friend from Rhode Island and others who supported the Veterans Health Care Act. Hopefully, that legislation that we passed and was signed by the President earlier this year will help address that problem. I also appreciate the gentleman from Rhode Island pointing out that the Paul Wellstone Mental Health Treatment Equity Act only addresses one aspect of the problem here, people who are being discriminated against in health plans. We also need to make sure our troops are getting the adequate mental health care that they need and deserve; our veterans, across the board, from all wars, are getting the treatment that they need and deserve; our Medicare seniors, you look at the rates as people are aging with our aging population, so is the incidence among people over 65, the incidence of alcoholism and drug addiction. We need to address the Medicare population as well. The Medicaid population, there are roughly 26 million addicts and alcoholics in this country according to SAMPHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration. About 16 million of the 26 million alcoholics and addicts are in health plans, which means that at least 10 million are either in Medicaid or have no insurance whatsoever. We've got to address that population as well. And, finally, as the gentleman from Rhode Island knows well, 82 percent of the people in prisons and jails in the United States are there directly or indirectly because of mental illness and/or addiction, and we're not treating, in our prisons and jails, we're not treating these problems, the underlying cause. And 99 percent of prisoners are going to get out some day, about one percent being capital offenders who presumably will be executed or will be staying there for the rest of their life without parole.

Mr. RAMSTAD. Would the gentleman yield?

Mr. RAMSTAD. I thank my friend and colleague from Rhode Island for yielding, and I thank him for his outstanding leadership as co-Chair with me of the Addiction Treatment and Recovery Caucus, for his outstanding leadership on the parity legislation, and every other piece of legislation dealing with mental illness and addiction. I also want to thank my friend and colleague from Rhode Island for the inspiration he has been to literally hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of Americans because of his own honesty, candor, because of the example he has been. By going public with his own story, he has impacted the lives of countless Americans. Mr. Speaker, as my friend from Rhode Island knows, and many of my friends here know, on July 31, 1981, I woke up in a jail cell in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, under arrest from my last alcoholic blackout as a result of my last alcoholic episode. I had abused alcohol for 12 long and painful years, and I was under arrest when I woke up that morning for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and failure to vacate the premises. I am alive and sober today only because of access to treatment that I had, like other Members of Congress. Like my friend from Rhode Island, we had access to treatment as well as the grace of God and the support of many other recovering people, over the last 26 years in my case. I'm living proof, as is my friend from Rhode Island, that treatment works and recovery is real. But too many people don't have that access to treatment. It's a national disgrace that 270,000 Americans were denied access to treatment last year for their addiction, people who had admitted their powerlessness over chemicals, and the treatment doors were slammed shut because the insurance companies said, No, we're not going to cover you in treatment, despite the fact that the policy said treatment shall be provided. It's a national tragedy, Madam Speaker, that 150,000 of our fellow Americans died last year as a direct result of chemical addiction. Thirty thousand Americans committed suicide from their depression last year alone. And it's a national crisis that untreated addiction and mental illness cost our country, our economy, $550 billion last year alone. And think of the costs that can't be measured in dollars and cents. Think of the human suffering, the broken families, the shattered dreams, the ruined careers, the destroyed lives. The statistics are so staggering that sometimes we forget there's a tragic human story behind every figure, as Representative Kennedy and I heard in those 14 field hearings we conducted throughout the Nation. Madam Speaker, let me now share a couple of those stories. In my home State of Minnesota, the second hearing we held, Anna Westin, was a young woman who suffered from anorexia for several years, and her mother, Kitty, talked about how their insurance company, the family's insurance company, refused to cover the inpatient treatment that Anna Westin desperately needed. Anna became distraught at being a financial burden on her parents and committed suicide, took her own life. I want to thank Anna's mother, Kitty Westin. She has created the Anna Westin Foundation to help other young people struggling with eating disorders. And Kitty Westin has been a tireless advocate for expanding access to treatment. But her daughter didn't need to die had the insurance company done the right thing, the cost-effective thing, and covered that inpatient treatment that Anna Westin needed so badly. We also heard horror story after horror story as a result of health plans discriminating against people with chemical addiction and mental illness. We heard from Steve Winter, a close personal friend of ours because of these hearings. He traveled in his wheelchair to at least half of those field hearings. Steve tells the most compelling story I've ever heard. When he was a teenager, he woke up one morning and his back was stinging. He felt a stinging sensation. He stumbled downstairs to breakfast and he realized that blood was streaming from his back. He put his hand back there to his back, lower back, and had a handful of blood. Then his mother came into the kitchen, and her voice said, your sister is in heaven, and now you and I are going to join her. His mother was pointing a gun at him. Fortunately, Steve was able to talk his mother into putting the gun down after she had killed his sister and critically injured him, causing him to be a paraplegic for the rest of his life. But as Steve said, My mother didn't shoot my sister and me; her mental illness did. It was the family's insurance company who is to blame for stopping the coverage of his mother's drugs for schizophrenia. That's what caused Steve to lose the use of his legs for the rest of his life and his sister to be shot to death. Clearly, Madam Speaker, there are very few families in America who haven't been touched in some way by mental illness or addiction. And I know my colleague's going to share some of those stories, but let me just say that it's time to end the discrimination against people suffering the ravages of mental illness and chemical addiction. It's time to end the higher copayments, higher deductibles, the out-of- pocket costs and limited treatment stays. It's time to end those discriminatory barriers that don't exist for other physical diseases. It's time to treat mental illness and chemical addiction under the same rules as physical illnesses. After all, it was 1946 when the American Medical Association categorized addiction as a disease. Anybody from the Flat Earth Society who still thinks it's a moral failing, I suggest they consult the American Medical Association, our Nation's doctors, who, as long ago as 1956, realized addiction is a disease. As my colleague from Rhode Island said, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act will give Americans suffering from addiction greater access to treatment by prohibiting health insurers from placing discriminatory restrictions on treatment. In other words, it will end the discrimination against people in health plans who need treatment for mental illness or chemical addiction, plain and simple. Madam Speaker, expanding access to treatment is not only the right thing to do, it's also the cost-effective thing to do. We've got all the empirical data in the world, all the actuarial studies in the world to prove that equity for mental health and addiction treatment will save billions of dollars nationally while not raising premiums more than 2/10 of 1 percent, and that's according to an exhaustive study by the Congressional Budget Office. In other words, Madam Speaker, for less than the price of a cheap cup of coffee per month, one cheap cup of coffee per month, 16 million people in health plans could receive treatment for their chemical addiction and millions more for mental illness. It's also well documented that every dollar spent on treatment saves up to $12 in health care and criminal justice costs alone. People like Mr. Kennedy and I, who have been treated, our health care costs are 100 percent less, 100 percent less than people with an addiction or mental illness whose disease has not been treated; 100 percent less in terms of health care costs alone. This landmark legislation that Representative Kennedy and I have been working on for 10 years has 273 House sponsors, 273 of you here in the House, cosponsors. It was passed with strong bipartisan majorities in two subcommittees, three full committees in the House. Let me say, Madam Speaker, the bottom line now, we must not go home this year without enacting mental health parity into law. Let me repeat that. We must not go home this year, Congress must not leave without enacting mental health parity into law. Tens of millions of Americans suffering the ravages of mental illness, chemical addiction, can't afford to wait any longer. Madam Speaker, before I yield back to my friend from Rhode Island, let me just thank him, again, for his incredible leadership, for his outstanding work, for his passion for people in need, people suffering from mental illness and chemical addiction, and for the example he is to millions of Americans. I want to conclude, Madam Speaker, by saying that ending discrimination against people suffering from addiction or mental illness is not just another public policy issue. It's a matter of life or death. It's a life-or-death issue for millions of Americans suffering the ravages of mental illness and chemical addiction. Let me conclude by repeating as strongly as I can, it's time to end the discrimination against people who need treatment for mental illness and/or chemical addiction. It's time to prohibit health insurers from placing discriminatory barriers on treatment. It's time to provide greater access to treatment. It's time to pass the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act, because, Madam Speaker, the American people, literally, can't afford to wait any longer for Congress to act. The American people should not have to wait any longer for Congress to deal with America's number one public health problem. Let's keep the ball moving forward. And next week, hopefully, we'll have the best Christmas and Hanukkah present we could ever deliver to the American people; that is, treatment equity for those suffering from mental illness and chemical addiction. Again, I thank my friend from Rhode Island.

Mr. RAMSTAD

Mr. RAMSTAD. I thank the ranking member for yielding. And I, too, want to applaud Chairman Rangel, Chairman Levin, and Ranking Member McCrery for the new spirit of bipartisanship and collaboration on the committee, which has resulted in this agreement getting here this evening, remarkable accomplishment. The Ways and Means Committee voted this out on a unanimous vote, unanimous bipartisan vote. And, Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3688, the U.S.- Peru Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act. I've long been an ardent supporter of trade expansion. Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is jobs. Fully 95 percent of the world's population lives outside the United States. The global economy's projected to grow at three times the rate of the United States economy. So, it doesn't take a mathematician to figure that we must take steps to make sure American farmers, manufacturers and service providers remain competitive in the international marketplace. We also must make sure our products have fair access to foreign markets. Job creation depends upon both factors. But this agreement is about more than expanding markets for U.S. goods and services. In fact, it's about more than job creation. It will also have a significant geopolitical impact. As we all know, and as has been said on the floor tonight, South America's on the precipice of choosing between the free market, democratic West and the autocratic, dictatorial model being peddled by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Chavez continues to lure Latin American countries into his fold through false promises and blatant, unabashed bribery. This agreement that we're debating here tonight offers a legitimate alternative for Peru, an alternative to make significant economic strides and alleviate poverty, while providing increased market opportunities for both countries, U.S. businesses as well as Peruvian businesses, because, you see, Mr. Speaker, as most people in this body understand, trade is a win-win proposition. Both win when we expand trade, both countries. The empirical data, Mr. Speaker, clearly shows the benefits to both countries, both economies. And as a Member who has a personal history with the Peruvian people, who's gone on several missions with our mission group from home, I urge Members not to ignore the humanitarian benefits as well as the geopolitical benefits that come along with passage of this agreement. Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to send my sincere thanks and gratitude to our Peruvian counterparts who worked so hard to make this agreement a reality. Former President Toledo and former Ambassador Ferraro worked tirelessly to address the concerns of many of us here in this body, especially on the Ways and Means Committee, came and met with us at least three times. Many of us went over to Peru to meet with them. Also President Garcia and Ambassador Ortiz. Mr. Speaker, let's do the right thing for American workers and vote ``yes'' on this trade agreement.

Mr. RAMSTAD

Mr. RAMSTAD. Madam Speaker, I rise to urge my colleagues to vote to override the President's veto of H.R. 976, which extends and expands the State Children's Health Insurance Program, SCHIP. We have a moral obligation to cover all our children so every child in America can grow up healthy. It's the right thing to do; it's also the cost-effective thing to do. The great Minnesotan Hubert H. Humphrey once said that a key moral test of government is how we treat those who are in the dawn of life, the children. We must not flunk this moral test. My home State of Minnesota started covering children through its medical assistance program even before SCHIP was created, but we still have far too many children without coverage--73,000 kids. That's why I strongly support extending and expanding SCHIP. I also hope we can work together to provide greater access to private insurance coverage for America's children and other uninsured Americans. I urge my colleagues to support overriding the veto. We cannot afford to wait any longer. It's time to break down the barriers to health care for our kids. It's time to reauthorize SCHIP. It's time that all kids have a chance to grow up healthy. This legislation passed both the House and Senate with strong bipartisan support, and it deserves to become law. Let's put children's health first and do the right thing. Let's override the veto of the SCHIP reauthorization and reduce the number of uninsured children by at least 70 percent. There is no better investment than to invest in the health and well- being of America's children.

Mr. RAMSTAD

Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Chairman, that great Minnesotan Hubert Humphrey said, ``The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy, and the disabled.'' The National Affordable Housing Trust Fund meets this moral test. It fills a critical need for vulnerable families, children, the elderly and people with disabilities. The shortage of affordable housing is truly a crisis in our country-- and it is not restricted to inner cities. Virtually all of the suburban cities I represent have long waiting lists for affordable housing. I hear stories every week about families living in their cars, veterans living on the streets, seniors having to choose between medicine and housing. Several of the communities I represent have sponsored ``sleepouts'' to raise money and awareness of the problem of homelessness and near- homelessness. They have raised millions of dollars and helped thousands of families. But the crisis is just too big. The Federal Government has a critical role to play in helping the 14.4 million families with housing needs in our country. The important assistance in this bill can make the difference between stable housing and no housing at all. Mr. Chairman, by setting aside funds for the production, preservation and rehabilitation of affordable housing, this legislation will help those suffering the ravages of poverty, homelessness and near- homelessness. I urge all members to support this important legislation to expand affordable housing for all Americans. Everyone deserves to have a place to sleep every night that is stable and warm. It's time to address the affordable housing crisis in America. It's time to pass the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

Mr. RAMSTAD

Mr. RAMSTAD. I thank the ranking member for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1721, the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act. I would like to thank my colleague from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz) for her incredible efforts, her tireless leadership on this important legislation. But for her efforts, this legislation wouldn't be on the floor before us today. Mr. Speaker, this past July, a truly horrendous tragedy changed the life of my young constituent forever. Eight-year-old Abigail Taylor was swimming in a local club's swimming pool when she became entrapped by the pool's drain system. This brave young girl, and her family, fought with everything they had for her survival. She has now endured numerous surgeries and is faced with permanent disabilities that no child should ever have to suffer. While it is too late to protect young Abigail Taylor from her cruel debilitating injuries, it is not too late to protect millions of other children who use swimming pools and spas. No child should ever be disemboweled by a swimming pool drain. Mr. Speaker, Members, that is what we are talking about here. That is what happens to these children. They are disemboweled by the suction from these swimming pool drains. This important legislation will establish a new consumer product safety standard, as has been explained previously by Mr. Rush, whose leadership I also deeply appreciate, as well as Mr. Stearns and Ms. Wasserman Schultz. The standards will require each swimming pool or spa drain cover to conform to the entrapment protection standards of the American National Standards Institute and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, obviously two organizations with direct expertise. And these are very reasonable, not onerous, standards, very reasonable standards for industry which will protect our children in swimming pools. Mr. Speaker, let me just conclude by saying one drain entrapment is one too many. One precious little 8-year-old girl losing part of her small intestine is too much suffering to comprehend. Too much suffering to comprehend. It is time to take action to ensure our children are protected when children are sent to swimming pools by their parents or are there with their parents. Every parent should have a reasonable probability, a reasonable belief that their children will be safe in that pool. It is time to pass this critical legislation on behalf of Abigail Taylor and the millions of children who deserve to be safe in our pools. Let's pass this life-saving legislation without further delay.

Mr. RAMSTAD

Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 976, which extends and expands the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). We have a moral obligation to cover all our children so every child in America can grow up healthy. It's the right thing to do; it's also the cost-effective thing to do. The great Minnesotan Hubert H. Humphrey once said that a key moral test of government is how we treat those who are in the dawn of life, the children. We must not flunk this moral test! My home state of Minnesota started covering children through its medical assistance program even before SCHIP was created, but we still have far too many children without coverage--73,000 kids. That's why I strongly support extending and expanding SCHIP. I also hope we can work together to provide greater access to private insurance coverage for America's children and other uninsured Americans. This SCHIP legislation also avoids cutting any of the payments to Medicare Advantage and other critical programs, as it is financed primarily by a cigarette tax increase. So this bill will cover our children without cutting benefits for our seniors. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. With an expiration of this crucial program looming on September 30, we cannot afford to wait any longer. It's time to break down the barriers to health care for our kids. It's time to reauthorize SCHIP. It's time that all kids have a chance to grow up healthy. Like the U.S. Senate, we should pass this SCHIP reauthorization with a strong bipartisan vote. Let's put children's health first and do the right thing. Let's pass this reauthorization of SCHIP and reduce the number of uninsured children by at least 70 percent. There is no better investment than to invest in the health and well- being of America's children.

Mr. RAMSTAD

Mr. RAMSTAD. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution honoring the city of Minneapolis, first responders and Minnesota citizens for their heroic efforts following the I-35W bridge collapse. No Minnesotan will ever forget August 1, 2007, the day the 8-lane bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River. No Minnesotan will forget the tragic loss of 13 people, the serious injuries and incredible devastation caused by the falling bridge. And Minnesotans will never forget the countless acts of heroism they witnessed that day from first responders and concerned bystanders that ignored danger and rushed to help victims. In spite of the devastation, chaos and confusion, there was a highly organized response from Minnesota officials, firefighters, law enforcement and EMS personnel, the Minnesota National Guard, the Twin Cities Red Cross, local hospitals and the individuals, charities and businesses that donated time, money and goods. It made me proud to be a Minnesotan. America also witnessed an incredible story in the midst of that terrible disaster--the school bus on the collapsed bridge filled with children who miraculously survived the ordeal. Our deepest gratitude goes to every person who responded to this disaster, saving lives, caring for the injured and comforting victims and their families. A special thanks to Governor Pawlenty for his great leadership, as well as Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek, Minneapolis Mayor R. T. Rybak, the author of this resolution, Representative Keith Ellison, and the dean of our Minnesota Congressional delegation, Jim Oberstar, for his leadership in moving bridge funding legislation last month. Madam Speaker, I ask all my colleagues to support this resolution honoring the people who responded so bravely to the Minnesota bridge collapse.

Mr. RAMSTAD

Mr. RAMSTAD. I thank the distinguished ranking member, my friend, for yielding. Mr. Speaker, no Minnesotan will ever forget August 1, 2007. No Minnesotan will ever forget the day the I-35W bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River. No Minnesotan will forget the tragic loss of life, the serious injuries, and the incredible devastation caused by the falling eight-lane bridge. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, the survivors and their families as well as the brave first responders who have worked night and day on rescue and recovery operations. My special thanks go out to the firefighters, the law enforcement personnel, the EMS personnel as well as the Minnesota National Guard and countless Good Samaritans for their heroic rescue and recovery efforts. A special thanks, Mr. Speaker, to Governor Pawlenty for his great leadership as well as Hennepin County sheriff Rich Stanek, Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak, Representative Keith Ellison, and the rest of our Minnesota congressional delegation who have come together. I want to particularly thank the dean of our delegation, Chairman Jim Oberstar, for his extraordinary leadership in moving this delegation bill before the House today. Mr. Speaker, I respectfully ask all of our colleagues for their overwhelming bipartisan support to pass this crucial bill tonight so we can authorize funds for emergency repairs and reconstruction of the I- 35 bridge that collapsed last Wednesday. Also, Mr. Speaker, we need the funds for much-needed emergency relief as well. At this time of great need, Mr. Speaker, the good people of Minnesota are very grateful. We thank all of you for your support. We thank the Nation for their thoughts and prayers. We thank God that we live in a country where we can come together to help each other at our time of greatest need.

Mr. RAMSTAD

Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding, the dean of our delegation, Mr. Oberstar; and I strongly support this Water Resources Development Act and thank, again, Chairman Oberstar for yielding. I rise with tremendous sadness and grief about an awful tragedy that took place this evening in Minnesota. Full details on the tragedy are still sketchy, but we know that, as of 6:10 p.m. Minnesota time, during the midst of evening rush hour, a bridge on Interstate Highway 35W in downtown Minneapolis, very close to the Metrodome, collapsed, causing at least 40 cars to fall into the Mississippi River. As my colleague, Keith Ellison, mentioned, at least three people are confirmed dead. A number of others have been hospitalized at the nearby Hennepin County Medical Center, and now we get word at five other hospitals as well. Rescue operations are still under way at this late hour, as fires continue to burn and people remain unaccounted for. The Minnesota Congressional Delegation, thanks to our dean, Mr. Oberstar, has already met and pledged our total support to obtain whatever Federal assistance is needed. In addition, on behalf of Governor Pawlenty, with whom I've been in constant contact, I want to offer the gratitude of all Minnesotans to Speaker Pelosi, who has already pledged her full support for any Federal assistance our State needs to address this bridge disaster. I also want to pay special thanks to the first responders who are on the scene at the moment and rescue operations and other services. Every single Fire Department in the seven county metro area is there on the scene, as well as all the Police Departments, emergency medical personnel. And, again, we all thank those brave first responders. Our thoughts and prayers, Mr. Speaker, finally, are with the families of all those affected by this horrible disaster. We will continue to monitor the situation very closely, of course; and we ask all Americans to pray for the victims, the survivors and their families.

Mr. RAMSTAD

Mr. RAMSTAD. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay special tribute to Charles W. Lindberg, who passed away Sunday in Minnesota. Today would have been Chuck's 87th birthday. Chuck Lindberg was a real American hero and a great patriot. He was a Marine who carried a 72-pound flamethrower into some of the most horrific battles in the Pacific during World War II. He earned the Silver Star for valor, was shot in the arm and was honored with the Purple Heart. Chuck was a true profile in courage. And if you do not know his name, I guarantee you know of one of his heroic acts. Chuck Lindberg, you see, helped raise the first American flag atop Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945, during the Battle of Iwo Jima. That historic moment is captured in the famous sculpture at the Marine Corps Memorial by the Pentagon. Chuck Lindberg truly represented the best of Duty, Honor, and Country and personified our nation's commitment to freedom. On a personal level, I considered Charles Lindberg a good friend and very much appreciated and enjoyed our visits over the years. I was deeply inspired by hearing about his historic flag raising on Iwo Jima. I will always remember Chuck and that famous depiction of the flag raising will keep his spirit alive forever. Madam Speaker, Chuck Lindberg will go down in history as one of the greatest Minnesota patriots of all time. He was the last survivor among the men who raised that first flag. Before Iwo Jima, Chuck Lindberg bravely fought at Guadalcanal and Bougainville as part of Carlson's Raiders, an elite unit that operated behind enemy lines. Chuck was a hero in every way, and he never stopped being a hero. He dedicated his life to raising awareness of the sacrifices made by our Nation's brave fighting men and women. He reached out to other veterans and he spoke to veterans' groups and at schools. The Minnesota Legislature has passed a resolution in Lindberg's honor and Chuck is mentioned on several Minnesota war memorials. Madam Speaker, Chuck Lindberg was a modest man, like so many members of the Greatest Generation. Today, in Minnesota and here in our Nation's Capital, we honor him by not being so modest about his great accomplishments. We are deeply grateful for his many selfless contributions to our freedom and liberty. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Chuck's wife of 59 years, Violette, and daughters Diane Steiger and Karen Davidson and sons Rod, Rick, and Jeff.

Mr. RAMSTAD

Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is a special day in our community of Minnesota. Tomorrow is the day we welcome four very special new families to our community. Tomorrow is the day we dedicate and cut the ribbon at Wayzata Village Homes, an affordable housing complex built by Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. As we dedicate these beautiful new homes and welcome our new neighbors, I'm feeling deeply grateful to live in a community of compassionate, caring and committed people, people who care deeply about people suffering the ravages of poverty, homelessness and hunger, people who reach out to meet the housing needs of people in need, people like John and Nancy Berg. John and Nancy Berg started a family foundation several years ago to meet the affordable housing needs in our community and have contributed so generously time after time after time. People like Steve and Geri Bloomer, who donated the land for Wayzata Village Homes. People like Wayzata Mayor Andrew Humphrey, the members of the Wayzata City Council and the Wayzata Housing Authority, all of whom have a progressive, enlightened and generous approach to expanding access to affordable housing. I am also deeply grateful to all the sponsors, donors and other partners, as well as LaDonna Hoy, Jill Kohler and Kim Vohs, and all the staff and volunteers at Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners. Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners is truly the conscience of our community. I am also deeply grateful to Sue Haig, Tony Beckstrom, and all of those with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. Habitat is truly the conscience of our entire Nation in meeting the huge need for affordable housing in our country. In 1961, on the steps right here at the Capitol, in his celebrated inaugural address, President John F. Kennedy said: ``Here on Earth, God's work must truly be our own.'' In Wayzata, each of these wonderful people answered President Kennedy's call. They helped make Wayzata Village Homes a reality. They answered our community's call. And tomorrow we will celebrate this great affordable-housing success story. Tomorrow, we will celebrate four new families in our community and extend a special welcome to the proud new residents of Village Homes. Nobody will give a more special welcome than Rachel Poss. Rachel is a fifth grader at Birchview School in Plymouth. Rachel certainly touched my heart this week with her community service project, which was written up in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, of providing baskets of household items to the new families of Village Homes. Thank you, Rachel, and to all who made this Habitat project a reality. You showed us what public service is all about.

Mr. RAMSTAD

Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, as co-chair of the Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus and proud cosponsor of H.R. 1700, the COPS Improvement Act, I rise to urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. Since its creation in the 1994 Crime Bill, the COPS program has been a key component of the Federal effort to keep our communities safe. The program has been widely hailed as a success. It has supported the hiring of over 100,000 officers and contributed to a nationwide decrease in violent crime in the 1990s. H.R. 1700 makes several improvements to the program to increase public safety across the country. It reauthorizes the COPS hiring program to help put 50,000 new police on the beat in our communities, provides $350 million a year for State and local agencies to develop new technologies for crime prevention and police training and provides $200 million a year for community-based prosecution programs. In my home state of Minnesota, I've seen, firsthand, the importance of the COPS program to local police in reducing crime and improving public safety. The COPS program has been an invaluable resource to state and local law enforcement agencies for hiring, technology and school safety grants, and has been critical to providing personnel, equipment, training and technical assistance in the war on drugs and homeland security. We must never forget our cops are on the front lines--in the war on crime, fighting drug dealers and protecting our homeland. As Chris Matthews of MSNBC said after the attacks of September 11: ``Before the attacks on our homeland, America's heroes were the rich and famous. Since Sept. 11, America's heroes are the cops and firefighters. And that's good for America.'' Today, America's heroes are counting on us. Congress owes it to these brave men and women who put their lives on the line every day they put on the badge. Our nation's law enforcement officers need all the tools Congress can provide. It's time to honor the sacrifices made by our Nation's law enforcement community and give our Nation's finest the support they need.

Mr. RAMSTAD

Mr. RAMSTAD. Madam Speaker, April 13, 2007, marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of former Minnesota Governor Harold E. Stassen. I rise to pay tribute to the life of this remarkable Minnesotan and true patriot, who dedicated his life to serving our country. Born on a farm in West St. Paul, Minnesota, Harold Stassen graduated from law school and earned the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the ROTC by the age of 21. At just 22, he was elected Dakota County attorney, a position he held for 9 years. In 1938, Harold Stassen was elected Governor of Minnesota, taking office at the age of 31. He was the youngest person ever elected governor of any state, a distinction that lasts to this day. During his tenure, Harold Stassen was a visionary and creative leader. In his 1942 campaign for reelection, Governor Stassen said that if he was reelected, he would resign after the legislative session to join the U.S. Navy, saying, ``Our boys are fighting for the right of freedom, and I want to be with them.'' As promised, following the 1943 legislative session he resigned as governor and joined the U.S. Navy on the Battleship USS Missouri in the Third Pacific Fleet. He was awarded three battle stars, led the Navy's POW evacuation program in Japan and was on duty on the main deck of the Missouri when the message came that the Japanese had surrendered. In fact, he entered the receipt of that historic message in the USS Missouri's log book. In February of 1945, President Roosevelt named Harold Stassen as one of eight members of the American delegation to the Founding Conference of the United Nations in San Francisco, where he was later named one of the two most influential people in drafting the United Nations Charter. Stassen later played a key role in convincing Dwight D. Eisenhower to run for the Republican nomination for President. Upon his election, Eisenhower appointed Stassen Director of Mutual Security, which carried a Cabinet rank and included all foreign operations, foreign aid, relief, military and assistance programs, distribution of arms and technical and educational assistance. As a member of President Eisenhower's Cabinet, Stassen was also active in implementing the 1955 Geneva Summit, for which he drafted the Arms Limitation and ``Open Skies'' proposals initiated by GEN James Doolittle and presented by President Eisenhower at the summit. Having experienced first-hand the horror of war, Stassen spent the remainder of his political and public life working for world peace. Harold E. Stassen dedicated his life to serving our country, both in the armed forces and as a public servant and elected official. The country is grateful for his meritorious contribution to the security and national interests of the United States and his long legacy of public service. He died 40 days short of turning 95, on March 4, 2002.

Mr. RAMSTAD

Mr. RAMSTAD. Madam Speaker, before yielding back, I too want to express my deepest sympathy to the entire Virginia Tech community. Like every other Member of this body, my thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the tragic and senseless loss of lives. Having no further speakers, I urge a strong ``yes'' vote for this taxpayer protection. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. RAMSTAD. Madam Speaker, may I just inquire as to how many speakers the other side may have.

Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Price), a champion of the taxpayer. (Mr. PRICE of Georgia asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Herger), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee and ranking member of the Trade Subcommittee.

Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the Taxpayer Protection Act. This legislation is a package of commonsense reforms that passed the Ways and Means Committee by a voice vote with broad bipartisan support, and I want to take this opportunity to thank Chairman Rangel of the full Ways and Means Committee, as well as Chairman Lewis, the chairman of our Oversight Subcommittee, for working in a bipartisan, pragmatic and commonsense way on this legislation, and for working in a bipartisan way thus far generally in the committee. I also want to thank Ranking Member McCrery for his leadership. Mr. Speaker, true to its name, this bill will protect taxpayers and expand their rights. One important reform will prevent Internet domains from using the Treasury Department's name or symbol, which is usually done to trick people into giving out sensitive personal or financial information. Clearly, this should not be allowed and should be outlawed, as this bill provides. It prohibits phishing, and by that I mean phishing with a ``P-H,'' not the kind that Minnesota is famous for. We are referring here to mass e-mail communications falsely claiming to be from the IRS that can lead to identity theft and have victimized too many Americans. The bill also requires the IRS to notify taxpayers when there is an unauthorized use of the taxpayer's identity. This will help taxpayers take steps to clear their names quickly if and when their identity is stolen. Another commonsense provision of this bill allows the IRS to return funds directly to a taxpayer's retirement account if the IRS improperly levied fines from that account. One provision, Mr. Speaker, that received considerable attention in the committee deals with refund anticipation loans. I mentioned in the committee that while I certainly understand the motivation behind the provision and the belief that the IRS should not be a facilitator for predatory loans, I am concerned because the bill does not define ``predatory''; but I trust, Mr. Speaker, that will be clarified in the conference. I also hope we are not inadvertently making this problem worse by denying lenders information on ``debt indicators'' so that the provision increases the risk that a lender will not be reimbursed by the taxpayer's refund. This could cause lenders to increase fees and interest rates even further, making taxpayers pay even more for early access to their refunds. While I am not opposed to the provision, this should be addressed in the conference. I strongly support another provision in the bill which would encourage the IRS to do more to ensure that taxpayers entitled to receive earned income credit refunds actually receive them. Mr. Speaker, as we all know, the earned income credit is one of our most effective antipoverty tools for working families. This provision certainly deserves our strong support. Mr. Speaker, I am also very pleased that the committee adopted my amendment to prevent tax fraud by prison inmates. This amendment is based on legislation that Chairman Lewis and I introduced in the last Congress in response to a hearing we held in 2005. This hearing revealed massive tax fraud going on within the walls of our Nation's prisons. In fact, the IRS testified that 15 percent of all tax fraud in the United States is committed by prison inmates while in prison. Tax fraud in any form is obviously unacceptable and illegal; but it is particularly outrageous and egregious when it is committed by prison inmates who are supposed to be paying their debt to society, not bilking taxpayers. For example, we heard testimony, Mr. Speaker, from one inmate who had swindled taxpayers to the tune of $3.5 million in false tax return claims, and this was not an isolated incident. While the IRS is able to detect some inmate tax fraud, far too much of it falls through the cracks. And, unfortunately, the IRS is prohibited by current law from sharing information with prison officials that would allow those officials to punish and stop this fraud. My amendment, and I appreciate the chairman's support of this amendment, my amendment would allow the IRS to disclose information to Federal prison officials to help them stop the tax fraud that is occurring right under their noses within the walls of Federal prisons. I hope in time this commonsense provision can also be extended to include State prisons. Mr. Speaker, it is truly fitting that in a bill entitled the Taxpayer Protection Act we protect honest taxpayers from such blatant, outrageous fraud that is being committed by some prison inmates. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to protect taxpayers and support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RAMSTAD

Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member, my friend from Florida, for yielding, and also thank the chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Mr. Filner, for his leadership, as well as the author of this important legislation, Mr. Boswell of Iowa, and all of those who have worked to bring this legislation to the floor. I have talked, Mr. Speaker, to the mother and the stepmother of Marine Lance Corporal Jonathan Schulze of Minnesota. I have talked to the stepmother, who, along with Jonathan's father, took this young marine to the VA hospital seeking admission. Lance Corporal Schulze, back from the war in Iraq, was suffering from depression, post- traumatic stress disorder, alcoholism, and was suicidal. I have talked to this mother and stepmother who, along with Jonathan's father, are absolutely heartbroken at the loss of their beloved son and this true American hero, Lance Corporal Schulze. He was told by the VA that he was number 26 on the waiting list and would have to wait several months to be admitted for treatment. Five days later, Lance Corporal Schulze hanged himself with an electrical cord. This brave marine's tragic death demonstrates to all of us, to the Nation, the urgent need to provide greater access to mental health treatment for our returning troops and our veterans. None of our brave troops, none of our brave troops, suffering from PTSD should ever be placed on a waiting list for treatment. It is absolutely, Mr. Speaker, outrageous, that mental health treatment is not readily available for our brave troops returning from war. That is why I am proud and grateful to rise as a cosponsor of the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act. This legislation will provide necessary screening to our returning veterans for risk factors of suicide. It will make sure that those found to be at risk will receive the care that they need and deserve. It is too late, Mr. Speaker, for Lance Corporal Jonathan Schulze of Minnesota, but it is not too late for thousands and thousands of other returning troops and veterans. It is time to pass this critical bill. But we must do more. We must pass mental health and chemical addiction parity. There are 56 million Americans suffering the ravages of mental illness, most of whom are going untreated. There are 24 million Americans suffering the ravages of alcoholism and drug addiction, many, many veterans who are going untreated. We must also, in addition to this important legislation, pass the Mental Health Equity Act to provide equitable treatment for people suffering from mental illness and chemical addiction; that is, to put them on the same footing as people suffering from physical diseases. We also, Mr. Speaker, must pass the Lane Evans VA Reform Act, which is more comprehensive, provides more resources to the VA and more access to treatment for our veterans. Mr. Speaker, as I said, it is too late for Lance Corporal Schulze of Minnesota. It is too late for Staff Sergeant Omvig of Iowa. But it is not too late for our other veterans. Let's do the right thing. Let's pass this legislation. I thank the gentleman for his leadership.