Charlie Rangel

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize three outstanding New York City women: Inez Dickens, Yvette Clarke and Rosemonde Pierre- Louis, as the recent recipients of the first Annual Metropolitan College of New York Women's Empowerment Awards and to enter into the Record an article from the New York CaribNews entitled ``Women's History Month With Empowerment Awards,'' that salutes their achievements in their fields. These three ladies were truly deserving of the accolades bestowed upon them during National Women's History Month, at a gala recognition ceremony held at Metropolitan College on March 20, 2006. March of each year symbolizes Women's History Month. This time is set aside to honor all women with particular emphasis on the extraordinary contributions of women who actively make a difference in the daily lives of others. The three honorees for the Metropolitan College of New York's Women's Empowerment Awards have made notable contributions to furthering the causes of Diversity, Education and Public Service. New York City Council members Inez Dickens and Yvette Clarke, along with the Deputy Manhattan Borough President Rosemonde Pierre-Louis, were the honorees whose stellar careers and accomplishments merited this special recognition. To quote and agree with the MCNY President Stephen R. Greenwald, ``. . . Each of our honorees represents a model of success for our students and for all New Yorkers.'' While giving eloquent and sincere award acceptance speeches each honoree spoke of their values and the motivating forces that guided their careers. They also stressed the importance of community activism as they encouraged the audience to step up and make a difference. Mr. Speaker, I commend the first Annual Metropolitan College of New York for their decision to select and recognize Inez Dickens, Yvette Clarke and Rosemonde Pierre-Louis for their contributions to humanity. These trailblazers are very much deserving of the Women's Empowerment Awards. [From the New York CaribNews, Apr. 4, 2006] Metropolitan College of New York Celebrates Women's History Month With Empowerment Awards Metropolitan College of New York (MCNY) celebrated Women's History Month with the First Annual MCNY Women's Empowerment Awards for Contributions to Diversity, Education and Public Service on Monday, March 20 in the College's Student Lounge. The inaugural Women's Empowerment Awards were bestowed upon New York City Council members Yvette Clarke and Inez Dickens and Deputy Manhattan Borough President Rosemonde Pierre- Louis. MCNY President Stephen R. Greenwald welcomed the honorees, MCNY students, faculty and guests to the event and MCNY Alumna Lori N. Jones-Dessalines, Founder, President, and Center Director for Achievers of New York, Inc. Math Center in West Hempstead, Long Island, served as Mistress of Ceremonies. ``We are delighted to honor the achievements of these three outstanding New York City officials. In some ways, their accomplishments echo the pioneering work that Audrey Cohen began when she founded the Women's Talent Corps in 1964--the precursor to Metropolitan College of New York. Each of our honorees represents a model of success for our students and for all New Yorkers,'' said Mr. Greenwald. Councilmember Yvette Clarke credited her parents' community activism with motivating her to become a public servant. She also encouraged the students in the audience, the majority of who were women, to become active in their respective communities. ``I stand on the shoulders of many women who serve our City daily on community boards, in block associations, PTAs, tenant associations--women who are the unsung heroines of our City. It is on their behalf that I accept this award,'' Ms. Clarke noted. Council member Inez Dickens departed from her prepared remarks to tell the students a bit about her family history. Her family left Tulsa, Oklahoma in the 1920's to escape the racially motivated violence against African Americans. In the course of one day, more than 10,000 whites gathered and setting fire to every building standing, leveled 35 square blocks, murdered, raped and robbed, and committed other atrocities against African Americans. They used machine guns and airplanes that dropped nitroglycerin and dynamite in an all out attack on the African American section of town. The Dickens family moved first to Canada and then settled in Harlem where Councilmember Dickens' uncle, then her father, were among the first African-American elected officials in the New York State legislature. Deputy Manhattan Borough President Rosemonde Pierre-Louis encouraged the students to seek creative ways to be involved in public service. Stressing the importance of activism, she outlined many of the initiatives she spearheaded in her role as an attorney and an advocate for battered and other women's issues. She added, with the pride of achievement, that in 2006 she is the first Haitian American woman to hold a significant public appointment in New York.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to enter into the Record an interesting and spellbinding editorial entitled ``Women Time Now'' that clearly recognizes the growing number of outstanding women who are emerging as leaders throughout the world. I sincerely commend the newly elected leaders and admire the female leaders from the past who paved the way for this newer group of women elected officials. It is evident that they are poised to demonstrate their ability to lead their countries into the future. Portia Simpson-Miller, Jamaica's first woman Prime Minister and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Liberia's new President and the first elected female leader in Africa's history are surfacing to prominence with much support from their countrymen. The term referenced in the article to give a sense of the political climate in their countries is ``national euphoria''. This term clearly signifies the exuberance that is felt as these ladies take on the task of running their countries. While I am overjoyed for the newly elected female officials, a disturbing part of the editorial addresses the declining number of males in the U.S. and in the Caribbean who are failing to take advantage of the educational opportunities that could lead to a more active role from men in politics of the future. The Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies ventured to say that in another decade women will be leading the Caribbean in most spheres of influence. Hopefully, opportunities will continue to exist for all and more young men and women will embrace and seize the opportunity to contribute to the political processes in their countries. Mr. Speaker, I have deep respect for the fortitude and commitment of the many women leaders who are rising to the forefront as they embark on the mission to bring about positive changes in their countries. I enter this editorial into the Record to reiterate the point that women are emerging as leaders throughout the world and this emergence signifies that it is truly ``Women's Time Now.'' [From the NY Caribnews, April 4, 2006] ``Women Time Now'' ``It's woman time now, give her a chance.'' Across Jamaica, indeed throughout the Caribbean and in the West Indian Diaspora in North America and Europe, both men and women are chanting that sentiment. Although the words are meant for Portia Simpson-Miller, who in a few days time will make history in her country by becoming Jamaica's first woman Prime Minister, they are also being directed at Liberia's new President, Ellen Johnson- Sirleaf, the first elected female leader in Africa's history, and the newly installed President of Chile, Latin America's first woman head of state and government. Like others in different parts of world, Simpson Miller and Johnson Sirleaf, for instance, have come to office with national euphoria serving as the wind beneath their wings. It's up to them to lead their respective countries into a new and prosperous direction. Simpson-Miller, perhaps the most popular politician in Jamaica is not the first woman to head a Caribbean government. Eugenia Charles, the Prime Minister of Dominica in the 1980s and Janet Jagan, Guyana's President in the 1990s, are but two who come quickly to mind. In addition, Haiti, the Netherlands Antilles and St. Marteen have all had women at the helm. Across the Caribbean, indeed, around the world women are taking charge, enacting new laws, changing old bad habits, reshaping broken countries and companies and bringing a new sense of order and inspiration that augurs well for the future. In the U.S., which by the way lags Rwanda in giving women a larger share of political and parliamentary power outstanding women now hold key positions in government, the judiciary, on college campuses, civil society, the trade unions, corporate America and elsewhere. But as outstanding as it sounds, the pace may have been a bit too slow and needs to be quickened. Such outstanding women as Dame Billie Miller, Barbados' Senior Minister who has been her country's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade for a dozen years, Claris Charles, Grenada's Minister of Education, Dame Pearlette Louisy, St. Lucia's Governor General, and Pat Bishop of Trinidad and Tobago who is one of the Caribbean's most accomplished composers, arrangers and ethno musicologists are but a few of those who come to mind for having changed the course of government, the trade union movement or cultural expression in our part of the world. Just the other day, Dr. Nigel Harris, Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, served notice that in another decade women would be leading the Caribbean in most spheres of influence. He based that on the fact that females account for more than 70 per cent of the students on UWI campuses in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados. While that's a source of joy, it's also a reason to express regret as far as young men are concerned. The male of the species in both the U.S. and the Caribbean are failing to take advantage of educational opportunities, thus leaving us all to ask what does that tell us about the future? Women, especially Black women around the world are seizing every chance they get to make a difference for themselves and society. The barriers they have broken down are mind-boggling and are a lesson to all about rising to the occasion. That's not to suggest that the path has been easy or that the future is entirely rosy. They must expect challenges at every step but there is little doubt that they would be able to complete the task successful.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, as the 25th anniversary of the death of boxer Joe Louis approaches on April 12, 2006, I feel it quite appropriate to reminisce about the outstanding career accomplishments and contributions he made to society during his lifetime. Joe Louis Barrow, son of an Alabama Sharecropper was 10 years old when he moved to Detroit, Michigan with his mother and stepfather in 1924. He developed his physique by delivering 50-pound blocks of ice as a teenager. At 18, he learned that a boxing club paid fighters in food, so he fought to win $7 worth of food in a match where he was knocked down seven times in two rounds. He vowed never to fight again. A short time later a professional fighter, Holman Williams, gave him some lessons and persuaded him to enter the Golden Gloves competition. In 1933, his then manager, John Roxborough, shortened his name to simply Joe Louis. He went on to win 50 of 54 amateur fights, 41 by knockout, and was AAU national light heavyweight champion in 1934 when he was 19 years old. Known as the ``Brown Bomber'' Louis turned professional in 1935. He won his first eight fights, but finally lost to Max Schmelling, a German who was a key part of Hitler's ``Aryan Superiority''. Joe Louis was granted a much sought after rematch with Schmelling on June 27, 1938. The fight resulted in a first round knock-out of Schmelling, two minutes and four seconds into the round. This feat dealt a devastating blow to Hitler's Nazi Germany. Louis was very popular among whites as well as blacks. This fondness was attributed to his very quiet and modest demeanor. His popularity peaked after he knocked out Max Schmelling, as Schmelling was viewed by many as a tool of Hitler's Nazism. Louis defended his title 25 times in 5 years, knocking out 25 of his opponents. He entered the Army in 1942 and was used basically as a good-will ambassador. He appeared in a movie, The Negro Soldier, in an attempt to boost morale among black fighting men. After World War II ended, he defended his championship five more times. Louis announced his retirement in 1949 but his obligation to pay more than $1 million in back taxes forced him back into the ring. His last fight resulted in a knock-out by champion Rocky Marciano in the 8th round on October 26, 1951. Louis won 67 professional bouts, 53 of them by knock-out, and lost 3 bouts, 2 by knockout. In 1969 ill health overtook him and after collapsing on the street in New York City he was hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital. Upon his release, he became a greeter at a Las Vegas casino. After attending a Larry Holmes/Trevor Berbick boxing match, Louis went into cardiac arrest and died at age 67 on April 12, 1981. Joe Louis had an exceptional and fascinating boxing career filled with many wonderful moments. He was a ground breaking world renowned athlete who broke racial barriers at a time when that was difficult to do. He reigned as the U.S. Heavyweight champion for a record 12 years and most of all he opened doors for such future legends as Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson and Sugar Ray Robinson. Even though 25 years have gone by since Joe Louis passed away, History will always continue to portray him as one of the best prize fighters of all time.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Tavis Smiley for his publication of a remarkable analysis of the status of Black America, ``The Covenant With Black America''. Smiley, an instrumental American author, political commentator, and radio talk show host has contributed a great deal to the discussion on the goals of African Americans from fair minimum wage increases to equal and accessible healthcare. Smiley is determined to bring the plight of Blacks to the forefront of the national agenda by convincing African American leaders to embrace it. He introduced the covenant at a leadership conference in Atlanta and it appears to be succeeding in taking the covenant to other cities. His Covenant with Black America is now number one on the Washington Post best seller list and number two on the New York Times best seller list, an indication of a significant audience for its proposals which is being augmented by the taking of the proposals to audiences in the Black community such as the Shiloh Baptist Church in downtown Washington. The covenant includes pieces from an array of notable contemporary African Americans including former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher; Marian Wright Edelman, Angela Glover Blackwell, and Cornel West. The book has African Americans all across the country gathering and discussing Black America as was done with Smiley's presentation at Shiloh Baptist Church in downtown Washington on Thursday, April 7, 2006. Smiley has made many think about their status as he has asked the very pertinent question, ``Can we go from moment to momentum to movement?'' Also notable about ``The Covenant'' is that it is No. 1 on the Washington Post's paperback nonfiction bestseller list. This alone indicates that there are many who are interested in engaging in the discussion of the future of Black America. More than 200,000 copies have been sold since it was published less than two months ago. I enter into the Record an article from the Washington Post entitled ``The Volume That's Making a Loud Noise'' for the acknowledgment and support of a book with such a profound and straightforward method for tackling the vital issues within the Black community. Now is the time for revitalization in those communities across this nation and the Black community must rise to the occasion. [From The Washington Post, Apr. 7, 2006] The Volume That's Making a Loud Noise: People Flock to Hear About `Covenant' (By Linton Weeks) When a book becomes a collection of people, not just pages, we sit up and pay attention. ``The Covenant With Black America,'' a volume of essays pulled together by omnimedia personality Tavis Smiley, may be doing just that. At No. 1 on The Washington Post's paperback nonfiction bestseller list, ``Covenant'' is the book of the moment. It's been on the list for four weeks. And it is No. 2 on the upcoming New York Times paperback nonfiction list. All across the country, many black Americans are gathering, mostly in churches, to hear Smiley spread his gospel of response and responsibility and to buy a bunch of books. The publisher, Third World Press, reports that more than 200,000 copies have sold--at $12 apiece--since ``Covenant'' was published less than two months ago. In downtown Washington last night, Smiley's rousing presentation from the lectern of Shiloh Baptist Church is greeted with scores of amens and several standing ovations. Brandishing a copy, he says, ``Make black America better, you make all America better.'' Funny and self-effacing, Smiley asks the thousand or so people in the pews, ``Can we go from moment to momentum to movement?'' The volume could also be titled ``The Purpose Driven Community.'' ``Covenant'' is a collection of pieces by notable contemporary African Americans, including former U.S. surgeon general David Satcher; Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children's Defense Fund; Angela Glover Blackwell, founder of the think tank PolicyLink; and Cornel West, who teaches religion at Princeton University. The 250-plus-page book is divided into 10 core chapters, each plumbing a single subject, such as the right to health care, the unequal justice system or the racial digital divide. Arguments are buttressed with statistics and calls to personal and political action. For example, in the chapter on accessing economic prosperity, the book encourages elected officials to ``increase the minimum wage to a living wage'' and urges individuals to ``open and maintain a savings account, no matter what your family's income is.'' Smiley, who has written a handful of books and is a regular on public television, is proud that ``Covenant'' has sold mostly through the traditional African American grapevines of church meetings, talk radio and word of mouth. And that he has bypassed the Great American Buzzmaking Machine. ``We haven't been on `Oprah'!'' he shouts to the crowd. ``We haven't been on the `Today' show! And we haven't been on NPR! That's all black folks,'' he says about the book's phenomenal rise on the bestseller lists. ``Black folks did this.'' He uses the success of his book to illustrate the economic and political might of the African American community. He also points out that he chose Third World Press in Chicago, an influential African American publishing house founded in 1967, to publish his book. ``It's selling so fast we can't keep up with demand,'' says Bennett J. Johnson, vice president of Third World. Johnson says one of his friends describes the book as ``an oasis in the desert'' because it is the rare volume that ``allows black Americans to view their own interests in an organized fashion, and it provides white America with an articulated version of what black America wants.'' This will be ``a wedge book,'' Johnson predicts, that will make book buyers and the publishing industry look at black publishers and writers in a different light. `` `Covenant,' '' he adds, ``is not a bible. It's not 100 percent right on each issue. But it starts a dialogue.'' The book does touch a certain chord with some people. Pamela Johnson, 38, of Upper Marlboro, for instance, who is sitting near an aisle in the church. She heard Smiley talking about his ideas on the Tom Joyner morning radio show. African Americans have to ``understand what we have to do to improve our situations,'' Johnson says. An industrial engineer and a mathematics professor at Strayer University, she is especially interested in the book's emphasis on establishing an equitable system of public education. Edelman, who is onstage with Smiley, wrote the book's statement of purpose. ``Covenant,'' she writes, ``calls on parents, educators, preachers, social service providers, community leaders, and policy-makers to act now and create a brighter future for our children.'' The book grew out of several annual State of the Black Union symposiums that Smiley conducted. Contributor Blackwell explains from her home in California that Smiley wanted to take the conversations from those confabs ``and harness the intellectual power and the energy.''

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the Reverend Al Sharpton for his continued encouragement of black youths in America to rise up and join the struggle against poverty, low performing schools, corruption and other ills that plague many of our inner cities across this nation. The Reverend believes that the time is now for new blood with new and exciting ideas to speak up and become participants in the issues that directly influence their livelihood. Sharpton is trying to train today's inner city youth on how to become leaders just as he was trained so many years ago. Reverend Al Sharpton was best known as the ``Wonder Boy'' in his youth. He was also known as the one who began delivering sermons at the Washington Temple Church in Brooklyn as a first-grader. Later at age 10, Sharpton preached a sermon before 10,000 people at the World's Fair. During this time, Sharpton was a teenager and had attracted the attention of the late Representative Adam Clayton Powell becoming part of the Harlem congressman's entourage. Sharpton held his annual National Action Network meeting in New York this past week and in attendance were many of his up-and-comers who will likely be running cities and other municipalities along with Congress before long. The list includes Yaphet El-Amin who became the first female Muslim to hold state office in Missouri when she was elected in 2002. There is also Alicia Reece, a member in Sharpton's organization who is considered a rising star, and then there is the Reverend Jarrett Maupin, a 17 year-old from Phoenix, Arizona who is now Sharpton's youth director. Maupin made an unsuccessful bid for the Phoenix City Council, yet he retains the spirit and desire to run for his school board this year. I enter into the Record an article published in the New York Daily News on Friday April 7, 2006 entitled, ``Reverend Al's new flock'', for highlighting the importance of implementing forms of community mentoring. As members of the old guard grow older, the time is now for the youth in our nation to stand up as we hand them their futures. More people need to take the time to do the same and encourage the leaders of tomorrow to rightfully take their place in society. Reverend Al's New Flock (By Errol Louis) Here in New York, the Rev. Al Sharpton tends to be seen as a perennial political outsider and gadfly--his detractors inevitably dismiss him as a publicity-seeking hustler--but that cynical, out-of-date view ignores the impressive political network Sharpton has diligently been building from coast to coast. In a dozen or so black communities where elders tend to monopolize leadership of the churches, schools, civic groups, political clubs and other key institutions, Sharpton has been busy grooming young, ambitious candidates for office. By playing the role of mentor, promoter and fund-raiser, Sharpton does what many shortsighted black politicians refuse to do: actively encourage youngsters to join the struggle against poverty, broken schools, corruption and other inner- city ills. Sharpton's approach should be copied by pols in communities where new blood and new ideas are desperately needed. A batch of hopefuls from Generation Al--many of whom were in New York City this week for the annual meeting of Sharpton's National Action Network--has been particularly active lately. The list includes Yaphet El-Amin, a 35-year- old from St. Louis who became the first female Muslim to hold state office in Missouri when voters elected her to the legislature in 2002. She is running for state Senate this year. Alicia Reece, an officer in Sharpton's organization who served as vice mayor of Cincinnati and lost a race for mayor last year, is considered a rising star. Brooklyn's own Kirsten Foy, one of Sharpton's staff members, is running for a district leadership in Crown Heights this fall. And then there's the Rev. Jarrett Maupin, Sharpton's national youth director. The 17-year-old from Phoenix, a college freshman who has been preaching since he was 10, is so much a Sharpton clone that he wears his hair in the same trademark conked-out style. ``I had my hair like this before I met Rev. Sharpton, but after I met him I decided to keep it,'' says Maupin. ``It's a power look.'' Maupin made an unsuccessful bid for the Phoenix City Council last year and plans to mount a run for school board this year. Sharpton not only holds fund-raisers and stumps for his proteges, he freely connects them to political heavy-hitters. This morning, for instance, they will be meeting with Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who is set to give a breakfast talk to Sharpton's group. The reverend's interest in grooming young leaders dates to his own background as the Wonder Boy, a prodigy who began delivering sermons in Brooklyn's Washington Temple Church as a first-grader. At age 10, Sharpton preached a sermon before 10,000 at the World's Fair. By the time he was a teenager, Sharpton had attracted the attention of the late Rep. Adam Clayton Powell, becoming part of the Harlem congressman's entourage. Whenever Powell came to town, he'd ask for ``the kid.'' Sharpton's decision to pass along the sort of mentoring he received stands in stark contrast to the way black politicians in New York and elsewhere cling to office for decades on end, passing their seats to relatives like heirlooms and doing everything in their power to drive newcomers away. But while the old guard gets older, Sharpton--who's mulling another run for President in 2008--is smartly playing the odds, collecting friends, fans and favors among a network of up-and-comers who will likely be running cities, states and Congress before long. The reverend won't just have powerful friends. To the consternation of his enemies, he'll also get the last laugh.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, on the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement (HCCI) to enter into the Congressional Record a perspective that recognizes the many achievements and accomplishments attributed to the HCCI. Since 1986, the Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement (HCCI) has been devoted to bringing about positive change to the Harlem community as its coalition of churches remain vigilant in their efforts to revitalize the spirit of Harlem by continuing to work to improve conditions in the community. The HCCI initiative started with a consortium of 16 ministers and has grown to a membership of nearly 100 churches. Their organization has constructed over 2,000 units of affordable housing, provided job development and training and established support groups to reinforce and assist with services to the community. I have lived in Harlem my entire life and can attest to the success of the many initiatives undertaken by the HCCI. I have witnessed the collective conception of ideas that grew into plans that resulted in major improvements to the lives of the people of Harlem. Mr. Speaker, I am extremely proud of the achievements of the HCCI and I respectfully enter into the Congressional Record this perspective which serves to recognize the HCCl's noteworthy accomplishments as we approach the organizations' twentieth anniversary. The Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement, Inc.: Faith at Work For the past two decades, the Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement (HCCI) has quietly, yet methodically, changed the physical landscape and the spiritual soul of the people of the Harlem community. HCCI was founded in 1986 as a consortium of 16 Harlem churches, whose pastors and congregants had long endured the surrounding urban decay. HCCI's first President was the late Bishop Preston R. Washington, Sr. The organization grew to an organization of more than 90 churches, mosques and a synagogue. The organization began with a grassroots planning and organizing initiative. Harlem area churches raised $100,000 which was matched by the Trinity Episcopal Church on Wall Street. A plan for the Bradhurst community was developed by working with the Harlem Urban Development Corporation, Columbia University's Urban Technical Assistance Project and the City College Architecture Center. That plan was eventually adopted by the City of New York as the Bradhurst Urban Renewal Area Plan. The Bradhurst area had such a high level of deterioration that the blight seemed almost incurable, with rampant crime, drug addiction, abnormally short life expectancy, high infant mortality rates, population exodus, HIV/AIDS, an unemployment rate that outstripped the national average, poor schools with alarming dropout rates, and no decent or affordable housing. The first grants to address the Bradhurst area were received from Local Initiative Support Corporation and leveraged donations raised through special church collections. The organization used the Industrial Areas Foundation method of developing an organization. Since then, HCCI's community service has been reversing these conditions concurrently, block by block. From welfare-to-work training and placement, to adult basic education and GED prep (in collaboration with Literacy Partners), HCCI has helped hundreds of Harlem residents prepare for the workforce through its Office of Human Capital Development and trains still others to become licensed family childcare providers. Other job readiness services include computer training at HCCI's Career and Technology Center, and collaborations with Literacy Partners. The Intel Computer Clubhouse trained neighborhood kids in web design so well that they won a grant to create a Web site on the negative effects of tobacco. The city's building trade industry has welcomed graduates of the Construction Trades Academy where students learn valuable skills in construction work, including handling hazardous materials such as asbestos abatement and lead paint control. HCCI's customer service training program proved valuable for residents who were hired at the new Pathmark Supermarket at 145th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard. Part of a $42 million real estate initiative, HCCI's Office of Real Estate Development broke ground on the market and a 126-unit co-operative apartment complex in the heart of the Bradhurst neighborhood. Indeed, quality affordable housing has been the centerpiece of HCCI's services to the community from the very beginning. To date, approximately 2,000 units of affordable housing have been built through innovative cross sector collaborations with city and State elected officials, the NYC Housing Development Corporation, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, a host of banking institutions that include JPMorganChase, Citicorp, Roslyn Savings, the Bank of New York, Bank of America, Wachovia and Washington Mutual. Embarking on the Equitable Development initiative, JP Morgan Chase's Community Development competition awarded the $25,000 top prize to three New School University graduate students to create an architectural design that would transform the Erbograph Building on l46th Street into a new community facility space for some of HCCI's offices and housing for the elderly. One of the more damaging health care crises of the twentieth century has been the AIDS epidemic. Communities of color have been the hardest hit. African-American men and women are nine times more likely to die from the disease than white AIDS patients. In 2004, Central Harlem recorded 218 newly diagnosed cases of HIV/AIDS. HCCI began to educate Harlem residents about HIV/AIDS and other diseases, and more recently created a pilot program called the Community Organizations and Congregations for Health institute (COACH), offering technical assistance to five faith-based institutions to help them start nonprofits to sustain their HIV prevention services. For the past seven years, HCCI has hosted the Balm in Gilead/Annual Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS. HCCI increases awareness through street education and outreach, presentations and workshops, and their growing Health Resource Library. HCCI's scattersite housing initiative has proved effective in housing HIV/AIDS patients, many of whom were homeless. Food stamp access programs and other services funded by the city's Human Resources Administration have helped restore them to more productive lives. The question is always asked whether the church can be an agent for change if it is facing all of the previously mentioned challenges. It is an uphill battle to be sure. But HCCI's 100-church membership has proven that with God's help it can be done.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in celebration of the life of an American patriot, the Reverend William Sloane Coffin Jr. As a prophetic mouthpiece for God, Reverend Coffin spoke truth to power. He trumpeted the call to America to live up to its moral ideals by remembering the plight of the poor and oppressed at home and abroad. Reverend Coffin was a peace maker around the world, encouraging America and nations alike to pursue peace over war; ``Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.'' Reverend Coffin fought for civil rights and was a staunch opponent of the Vietnam war in the 1960's. In Montgomery he was arrested in protest of segregation in the South; he was a disciple and advocate of civil disobedience. He believed civil disobedience could bring social and political change in the world pervaded with inequality and injustice. As an ordained Presbyterian minister he adhered to a strong sense of call to social activism. He was in the early 60s the senior minister at the historic Riverside Church in my congressional district. His ministry focused on a variety of social and moral issues facing humanity. He drew attention to the plight of the poor, political and military power, nuclear disarmament and interfaith understanding. Reverend Coffin exemplified tremendous courage in standing up for what he believed was just and fair. He would often say that ``courage is the first virtue, because ``it makes all other virtues possible.'' Reverend Coffin was indeed courageous in his fight against genocide in certain parts of the world, particularly in Bosnia. ``Every minister is given two roles, the priestly and the prophetic.'' He would often remind his interviewers of this theological claim to help America and the world understand why a minister was concerned with social-political affairs. In the tumultuous years of the Vietnam war he was outspoken in opposition to the war along side another prominent minister, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He led major demonstrations in protest concerning the grave injustice and moral wrongness of the Vietnam war which garnered him international recognition. His prophetic role mandated Reverend Coffin to challenge the status quo on an international level. In addition to serving as a senior minister, Reverend Coffin also assumed the chaplaincy post at Yale University. At Yale, during the Vietnam war, he counseled and encouraged students to protest the draft by returning their draft cards to the Justice Department. He infuriated the Johnson administration but he stood courageous and firm. Students at Yale respected him for his genuine and sincere approach to ministry and were urged to become sensitive to social struggle around the world by championing the cause of justice and peace. He remained at Yale until 1976, when he began to work on world hunger programs. Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate the life of Rev. William Sloane Coffin, his life reminds America that the voice of dissent is patriotism at its best. When he engaged in debate about American social policies and practices he would often characterize them as a partner engaged in a lovers' quarrel.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to enter into the Record an editorial from the April 11, 2006 New York CaribNews entitled ``Civil Rights Struggle Far From Over: NAACP Remains In Forefront, Almost A Century After Its Creation''; that praises the longevity and extreme effectiveness of the most influential civil rights organization in the United States known as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People or the NAACP. Since its inception the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was poised for a long, tumultuous and rewarding history. Although it may be possible to chronicle the challenging and harrowing legacy of the NAACP, the real story of the Nation's most significant civil rights organization lies in the hearts and minds of the people who would not stand still while the rights of America's people of color were denied. The history of the NAACP is one of blood, sweat and tears. From bold investigations of mob brutality, protests of mass murders, segregation and discrimination, to testimony before congressional committees on the vicious tactics used to bar African Americans from the ballot box, it was the talent and tenacity of the NAACP members that saved lives and changed many negative aspects of American society. While much of its history is chronicled in books, articles, pamphlets and magazines, the true movement lies in the faces--black, white, yellow, red, and brown-- united to awaken the conscientiousness of a people, and a nation. This is the legacy of the NAACP. Mr. Speaker, This article that I enter today reiterates the facts that the civil rights struggle is far from over as it proudly details from history a few of the organization's past successes. I am confident that such leaders as Bruce Gordon, President and Chief Executive Officer of the NAACP and Karen Boykin-Towns, President of the Brooklyn Chapter of the NAACP will continue to keep the legacy alive and also keep the NAACP in the forefront, as progress and accomplishments continue, for years to come. [From the New York CaribNews Editorial, April 11, 2006] Civil Rights Struggle Far From Over: NAACP Remains In Forefront, Almost A Century After Its Creation It was a succinct and forceful reminder. And it came from a person who knows the issues and from an organization that has led the fight for respect for Black people's civil rights and political liberties. ``There is still a lot of civil rights work to be done,'' was the way Bruce Gordon, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, NAACP, put it in an interview with this newspaper. ``Many people believe the passing of Rosa Parks, Coretta Scott-King and other icons of the movement signals that the task is over,'' he added. ``Nothing could be further from the truth.'' Well said! Anyone looking at the state of Black America, the lack of jobs in Black communities, limited access to adequate health care, a dire shortage of affordable housing, the intolerance of tens of millions of whites, the virulent strains of racism, the glaring attempts to cast young Black men as villains, the policy of cutting off much needed federal, state and local government assistance to families that need it the most and the poor schools that saturate our communities would readily endorse Gordon's marching orders, if you will. The NAACP is in an excellent position to assess the needs and to address them. And they have earned our support. Founded on February 12, 1909 by a multi-racial group of activists, who answered the ``Call'' to action, the NAACP has been at the helm of the long struggle from that historic occasion. We expect it to continue its important work for at least another century. Turn back some of the pages of history and the record of America's largest and oldest civil rights organization would become clear. A handful of examples, in: 1913 when President Woodrow Wilson officially sanctioned segregation in the federal government, a horrified NAACP launched a nationwide protest. 1915 the NAACP took to the streets and the barricades to condemn D.W. Griffith, the movie producer, for his ``inflammatory and bigoted silent film, ``Birth of a Nation,'' which today draws rave reviews from white critics for what they call his ``creativity'' while ignoring the bigoted nature of the film's content. 1922 In an unprecedented step, the NAACP placed large advertisements in many of the nation's major newspapers to focus national attention on the despicable and inhuman practice of lynching. 1935, NAACP lawyers Charles Houston and Thurgood Marshall battled successfully in the courts to have Black students admitted to the University of Maryland. 1939 When the Daughters of the American Revolution prevented world famous soprano, Marian Anderson, from performing at their Constitution Hall, the NAACP sprung into action. It moved the concert to the Lincoln Memorial and 75,000 persons attended. 1948, the organization led the fight that forced President Harry Truman to ban racial discrimination by the federal government, especially in the military. 1954, the NAACP won the landmark case before the Supreme Court that forced an end to segregation in public schools. Brown vs. Board of Education stands today as a battering ram against official segregation. 1965, Congress passed and President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act, which gave Blacks the unfettered right to participate in the electoral process as voters and candidates. The NAACP was a driving force behind its enactment. 1985, it led a massive anti-apartheid rally in New York that dramatized the plight of millions of Blacks in South Africa. 1997, the organization launched its ``Economic Reciprocity Program to fight against conservative efforts in Congress and the courts to end affirmative action. 2000, at the helm of a march by 50,000 persons to protest the flying of the confederate flag over state buildings. It was the largest civil rights demonstration ever held in the South. On and on we can cite chapter and verse about the successes and indeed the relevance of this noble institution whose effectiveness was demonstrated in almost every section of the country and in many nations in different parts of the world. As the NAACP itself has pointed out, ``from the ballot box to the classroom the dedicated workers, organizers, and leaders who forged this great organization and maintain its status as a champion of social justice, fought long and hard to ensure that the voices of African-Americans would be heard.'' We couldn't have said it any better. If the Association's history was built on the blood, sweat and tears of its members and supporters who believe in its vision then it has earned its place in our minds and hearts. Gordon is coming to New York to hail the resuscitation of the Brooklyn Branch, a development which comes a few years before the centennial anniversary of the NAACP itself and which sends a strong and positive signal to people around the country that the organization is vigorous and its future is secure. We extend our congratulations to Gordon and to the officers and members of the Brooklyn branch that's led by Karen Boykin-Towns.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Elbert Garcia, an extraordinary gentleman to whom I was first introduced when he was an American Political Science Association fellow in my congressional office, and who is now a media and policy analyst currently employed at my New York District Congressional office. I commend the Latino Alumni Association of Columbia University on their decision to bestow their first annual Trailblazer Award on a group of exceptional individuals that included Elbert Garcia. I was very pleased to find that this unique and very first annual Trailblazer award was presented April 1st during a celebration of the diversity and achievements of Columbia's Latino alumni appropriately called ``El Regreso.'' The Columbia University alumni honorees consist of Marcel Agueros, Rafael Collazo, Jennifer Duran, Michael Maldonado, Vivian Santiago, and last but certainly not least, Elbert Garcia. The group was cited because ``their dedication, vision, and representation of a wider movement were instrumental to the creation of the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race.'' In 1995, this group of Latin American students at Columbia were frustrated that the initiatives to bring the history of ethnic studies to their campus continued to result in failure. They were determined to draw attention to their plight by staging a non-violent hunger strike. The strike ended in the arrest of 22 students and the resulting media coverage of the arrest finally propelled Columbia and its lack of ethnic studies into the national spotlight. This publicity served as a wake-up call to the powers that be and ultimately led to change which resulted in the creation of Columbia's Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race. That Elbert was a leader of a group who had the strategic vision, self-discipline, determination and persistence to succeed is not a surprise to me because these are qualities which Elbert exhibits in his professional and personal life. I know Elbert to be a dedicated family man with great conviction. A Washington Heights-born freelance writer, Elbert has written about politics, music and culture for such publications as The Source, Urbanlatino Magazine, The New York Post and the Manhattan Times. The 31-year old son of Dominican immigrants has also worked as Web producer at MSNBC, the New York Times, and Philadelphia-based Latino news Web site, LATNN.com. Elbert earned a B.A. in Urban Studies with a specialization in Political Science while being an active student leader at Columbia University. In addition to helping to establish the school's Latino Studies program and the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race, he served as one of founders of Columbia University's undergraduate Dominican organization, EI Grupo Quisqueyano and managing editor of the multicultural magazine Roots & Culture. Prior to entering the field of journalism, Garcia worked several years as alumni counselor and supervisor at the Prep for Prep program, a New York City leadership development organization that works with students of color from fifth grade through college. He was also one of the early organizers of the New York International Latino Film Festival. Elbert spent a year working on Capitol Hill as a 2002-2003 American Political Science Association Congressional (APSA) Fellow, the oldest and most prestigious Capitol Hill fellowship program. Elbert rejoined my New York staff on a part-time basis in January, 2006. A product of the Ethical Cultural Fieldston School and the community's gifted and talented magnet school, Mott Hall, Elbert currently resides in the Upper Manhattan neighborhood of Inwood with his wife, Grissel. Elbert's background in media relations and journalism has proven to be an invaluable asset as he assists me in communicating and implementing the role of government in the lives of the constituents of the 15th congressional District. Elbert is a non-assuming, focused and savvy analyst who genuinely cares about people. He is dedicated to ensuring that the needs of our constituency are met. I am particularly proud of the great strides Elbert Garcia has made not only at Columbia University but also in his service to the residents of the 15th District of New York City. I salute and congratulate Elbert Garcia along with the five other honored Columbia alumni for the fortitude and bravery displayed in 1995 that brought about positive change that continues to benefit Columbia University to this day. I also salute Elbert for his continued work for the public in his chosen field. At a time of sharp difference between us on the question of immigration policy, we all should keep in mind these words of Elbert Garcia. To quote Elbert, ``A nation steeped in ethnic studies would not be in such a hurry to punish its immigrants.''

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to the distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee from Massachusetts, Mr. Neal, who serves on our committee as well as the Budget Committee. (Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the outstanding gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott), a member of the Ways and Means Committee. (Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Chairman, let me first thank Mr. Nussle and the Republican leadership for bringing up an important bill and allowing us to discuss it during the daytime hours. It is so unusual that I just wonder when the vote is going to take place, but I do hope it is in time for America to see how we work. Also, I want to thank Mr. Nussle for giving me the opportunity to explain some of the language that he has been using, because when he talks about entitlements there are so many people that get angry and they have to be against entitlements, too. They have to really be angry with America spending such a large amount of our budget on entitlements. But it is strange, they talk about entitlements and we talk about people in need. They talk about entitlements, we talk about the Social Security system that has lasted this country and given so much self-esteem and pride for our older people, those who became disabled, and things that we like to do. Don't cry. Don't just bring us these doggone private accounts. Don't send it to commissions. Bring it on the floor. Take it to the American people. Ask the older people and their kids and their grandkids, how do you measure self-esteem and dignity? Entitlements. What does it mean? Who are the least among us? Is it the poor? And if you are poor and you are sick, is it asking too much in this great country of riches to say you are entitled to health care? And if you are older, and you want to get a prescription drug, is it wrong for you to be outraged because we believe that they are entitled? Or how about a kid from the neighborhood? Most of us here came from families that never got a college education. Were we entitled to an education? No. We were lucky we were able to get it. But I think that now that our Nation is at war, a war that we shouldn't be in, I think that our Nation is at war in terms of competition with foreign countries, that our people should be entitled to educations. They should be entitled to compete. They should be entitled to self-esteem, and every American should have an education and a decent place to live and health care. But no, we can't afford it. We can't afford it, one, because $400 billion for Iraq. We can afford it for them. Oh, they will be entitled to decent health and decent housing and anything else, and we are not going to leave there until they get it, and they will have the victory and we will have the deficit. And so what I am saying is that let's not talk entitlements. If you really want to kill the education programs, the health programs for the aged and for the young, let's call it what it is. It is called Social Security. Say it with me. Social Security. It is called Medicaid. It is called Medicare. And these are programs for the disadvantaged. Now, if you can't afford it because you have some friends that are in the highest income, and I have not received one letter from any of them, and I don't think those from the rural areas, there aren't too many of them there either. They may be included on the contributors list, but they haven't called and asked for this tax cut. They haven't called and asked for it. But the people that are out there when we get back home during this work period, they will thank us for fighting to save what they think, what they used to be entitled to. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to enter into the Record a tribute to the legendary six-time world champion boxer Sugar Ray Robinson and to recognize the issuance of the Sugar Ray Robinson commemorative stamp. Although this charismatic boxer was born Walker Smith, Jr., he is best remembered as ``Sugar'' Ray Robinson. Born on May 3, 1921 in Ailey, GA, his parents moved the family to New York when Sugar Ray was a teenager to escape the prevalent prejudice in the South. It was there, in a Harlem gym, that he was first introduced to boxing. Sugar Ray visited the gym frequently, using a borrowed Amateur Athletic Union boxing card of a friend. The friend's name, incidentally, was Ray Robinson. His natural talent in the ring began to draw attention, and soon crowds gathered to watch Sugar Ray perform. When future coach George Gainford watched him box for the first time, Gainford commented that the young boxer's style and fluid motions were ``sweet as sugar.'' Others agreed, and the nickname stuck. After winning the New York Golden Gloves championship in 1940, 19-year-old Sugar Ray turned pro and never looked back. By 1946, Sugar Ray was the world welterweight champion. His reign included a 91 fight winning-streak. He held the title for 5 years, and then moved onto acquiring the world middleweight title, which he held five times between the years 1951-1960. A dominant force in the boxing ring for two decades, Sugar Ray was 38 when he won his last middleweight title. In the mid-1960s, Sugar Ray exited the ring gracefully. Sugar Ray's record was 128-1-2 with 84 knockouts at the pinnacle of his career. Amazingly, in over 200 fights, Sugar Ray was never physically knocked out; though he did receive one technical KO. Altogether, he amassed 109 KOs, and finished with a record of 175-19-6 with two no-decisions. World champion Muhammad Ali called him ``the king, the master, my idol'' In 1997, The Ring magazine named Sugar Ray ``pound for pound, the best boxer of all time.'' In 1999, the Associated Press named him both the greatest welterweight and middleweight boxer of the century. Sugar Ray Robinson passed away on April 12, 1989. Mr. Speaker, Sugar Ray Robinson is a true legend. I am very pleased to pay tribute to his legacy and also pleased to acknowledge the issuance of a commemorative stamp in his honor scheduled to be unveiled on April 7, 2006.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act passed the House today, Wednesday April 5, 2006. This Act calls for action. The specific intent and purpose of this Act must be implemented immediately by the Administration. It is too late for more words on the horrors of Darfur no matter how strong the words. As Nicholas Kristoff in his persistent, piercing Times columns has pointed out that for years, we have said ``Never Again, Again.'' And yet, the slow genocide continues in Darfur. Babies die of hunger and thirst, women suffer a deliberate policy of rape; men are castrated and shot in the head. The starvation, the deaths, the burning of villages, the poisoning of wells, the slaughter of domestic animals on which people depend, the brutal killing of children in front of their mothers continues while the world watches. ``Uncover Your Eyes'' Mr. Kristoff tells us. ``Uncover Your Eyes.'' (Nicholas D. Kristoff, June 7, 2005). The killing in Darfur is the first Genocide of the 21st Century. There is only one approach to a genocide: It must be stopped using all necessary means; and those that perpetuate it must be held accountable. There is no excuse for failing to hold accountable those who arm, condone and assist in genocide; most especially the excuse for a failure to hold a government accountable must not be ``the war on terror.'' Those who arm and support the Janjaweed militia as the government in Khartoum continues to do are terrorists. If you doubt it, then uncover your eyes: the Janjaweed seized nine boys from a village called Saleya, stripped them naked, tied them up, cut off their noses and ears, gouged out their eyes and shot them to death before leaving them near a public well. Nearby villagers got the message and fled. Currently rapes take place when women collect firewood. If the men collect the firewood, they are castrated and then shot in the head. The United States has given a great deal of humanitarian aid to the refuge camps where thousands of people of Darfur live. They cannot go back to their villages. The representatives from the State Department say the starvation and malnutrition rates for these people have slowed since 2004. However, they are unable to feed themselves; if they go back to their villages and try to restore their dwellings and grow crops; they will be killed. There is nothing to indicate the genocide has been called off. The non-Arab tribes from the Darfur region of Sudan are marked for death because of their tribal membership and the fact that they are non-Arab Africans. We know what needs to be done. We have the time to do what needs to be done. We have the means, the influence, and the power. What we need is the will and the leadership. First the United States must recognize that if the genocide is to be stopped, the United States will have to stop it. This is a most wonderful opportunity never before presented to a leader or a country. President Bush on behalf of all the compassionate citizens of this country must seize this opportunity. Second, the State Department with the leadership of the President must recognize that neither the mandate nor the troop strength of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) is adequate to protect civilians in Darfur. Third, although the United Nations Security Council has taken steps toward establishing a United Nations peacekeeping mission for Darfur, it could take up to a year for such a mission to deploy fully and the people of Darfur cannot wait that long. Therefore, the African Union must request assistance not only from the United Nations but also from NATO. NATO is needed immediately; Pursuant to Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations a peacekeeping force for Darfur must be approved. It must be well trained and equipped and have adequate troop strength to protect the people of Darfur and stop the deaths of helpless, unarmed civilians many of whom are under the age of five. In order to achieve this, President Bush must propose that NATO consider how to implement and enforce a declared no-fly zone in Darfur and deploy troops to Darfur to support to the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) until a United Nations peacekeeping force is fully deployed in the region. President Bush must also approve supplemental funding to support a NATO mission in Darfur and the African Union Mission in Sudan and called upon NATO allies led by the Untied States to support such a mission and to call upon NATO headquarters staff to begin planning for such a mission. President Bush has the opportunity that comes once in a presidency and perhaps once in a lifetime. He can save an entire people, their elders, their parents, their children. He can stop the rapes, the maiming of children and women, the acts of barbarism we have shut our eyes to because they are unbearable to look at. I implore President Bush on behalf of his fellow Americans, uncover your eyes and open your heart. Stop the genocide in Darfur.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the legacy and memory of Dr. Walter Rodney, an eloquent teacher, writer, scholar and political activist who left this world much to soon at the young age of 38 years and to enter into the Record an essay written in the New York CaribNews by Michael D. Roberts entitled ``Celebrating the 64th Birthday of Dr. Walter Rodney--Remembering A True Caribbean Intellectual--From Humble Beginnings to International Stature.'' Dr. Walter Rodney was born in Guyana on March 23, 1942, and at an early age, excelled academically. After graduating from the University of the West Indies, he enrolled at the London University and at the age of 24, was awarded a Ph.D. Walter Rodney an avid political activist was involved in the Guyanese labor movement and headed up the Working People's Alliance. His political views were strongly influenced by the Black Power and Black Consciousness Movements in the U.S. and Caribbean, respectively. Of particular scholarly interest to Rodney was the economic history of Guyana, and the legacy of slavery and colonialism in Africa. He inaugurated extensive research into the history of economic exploitation in Africa. He traveled and studied with teaching assignments in Tanzania and Guinea, Africans in Guyana trace their roots to Guinea. The results of his travels and research were three remarkable books: A History of the Upper Guinea Coast, 1545-1800, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, and Groundings with My Brothers. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa offered a Marxist analysis of the impact of colonialism and capitalism in under developing Africa and, consequently, the African world. Though he traveled extensively throughout the world, Dr. Rodney's base of operations from 1974 until is death was in Guyana. He continued to lecture and organize the people of his homeland. He joined the Working People's Alliance, WPC, of Guyana which later became an independent Marxist political party in 1979. There is so much more to say about the life and legacy of Walter Rodney. He was a profound intellectual and worldly scholar who had so much left to share with the world when he was silenced by death. Sadly, Walter Rodney was killed by a car bomb in Guyana on June 13, 1980. His murder remains unsolved. Walter Rodney was a true Caribbean Intellectual whose reach was boundless. I shudder to think of the difference he would have made in the world had he lived. On this anniversary of his birthday I honor his memory. Celebrating the 64th Birthday of Dr. Walter Rodney: Remembering A True Caribbean Intellectual (An Essay By Michael D. Roberts) My first encounter with Dr. Walter Rodney was in 1979 when he came to Grenada during the very early days of the Grenada Revolution since he was literally barred from entering Guyana his country of birth. A slim, unassuming man Walter Rodney was unpretentious and looked almost nerdish with heavy horned-rimmed glasses. He sported a large ``Afro'' hairstyle and was the first person I met who wore African clothes. During that year and up to April 1980 whenever he was in Grenada I would spend time with him since his remarkable brain and sheer brilliance was fascinating to me. Walter had the gift of simplifying many complex things and he would ask a question and then based on my response would open up an entire period of conversation based on analysis, discussion, point and counter-point. He was an excellent teacher, an adept debater and skilled analyst. Had he not been murdered he would have been 64 years old today and one could only wonder what this true Caribbean intellectual would have accomplished. Walter Rodney was born on March 23, 1942, and was murdered in Georgetown, Guyana, on June 12, 1980, ironically not far from Bent Street where his parents lived and where he grew up as a child. He attended Guyana primary school and from the start was an extremely gifted student. To many who knew him it was clear that he was unique. He first won a scholarship to Queens College in Guyana and then another one to further his studies at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. He graduated with first-class honors in History and again won an open scholarship to the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Walter graduated from that institution with a doctorate at the tender age of 24 years. Never losing his working class roots Walter Rodney soon embraced the principles of Marxism. It is this Marxist methodology that would be used to write his thesis that was published as a piercing analytical work ``A History of the Upper Guinea Coast 1545-1800'' and ``How Europe Under- Developed Africa'' considered today one of the most important books on British colonialism and its effects on the African continent and Third World development and underdevelopment as a whole. After graduation Walter left for Tanzania to take up a teaching position and then came back to Jamaica in 1968 to teach at the University of the West Indies. It was while there that he started to study the Rastafarian socio- historical phenomenon and wrote a book that is today considered one of the definitive works on the movement called ``Groundings with My Brothers.'' This book is a collection of talks that he gave in Jamaica and highlighted Walter's admiration for the working class and his ability to connect with those that society deemed unimportant and non-conformist. I remember one incident in Grenada that would help to further explain his life-long fascination and respect for the grassroots people among whom he was most comfortable and at home. In the end it would be this ability to connect with people and to make a lasting impression on them that would be feared and hated by his political enemies and which would lead to his assassination. The Governments in Guyana and the Caribbean did not only fear Walter Rodney's amazing intellect but his easy, sincerity that made people gravitate to him. One day we were driving on the Eastern coast of Grenada heading for the country's second largest town, Grenville. We stopped at a village named Birchgrove for a while and I left to see a friend at the Police station. Walter had two bodyguards with him and a few minutes later they came to me worried sick that he was nowhere to be found and maybe he'd given them the slip. I then led a search for Walter in the shops and parlors in the village since Walter was fond of going to where ordinary people congregated to speak to them and ask questions so he could learn more about them. By then I was used to his ways. But search as we may we could not find him. Then I heard loud laughter coming from the Birchgrove River and decided to check it out. There sitting comfortably on a river stone and surrounded by about 20 women, some bare-chested, some in the river washing, was Walter Rodney. When we arrived on the scene he flashed his usual sly grin and continued speaking with the washers--all wives of farmers and children of working people. We spent more than an hour listening to Walter exchange conversation with whom Granada's deceased Prime Minister Maurice Bishop used to call ``the salt of the earth.'' That was Walter he'd take a complex topic as economics and tailor it to suit the washers and presented it in words that they understood. He interjected humor and practical day-to- day experiences that they related to in an effective methodology for educating ``his people'' as he called them. In Guyana there has been the problem that historically the working class has always been divided mainly because of the manipulation of the planter class. The Indians were introduced into the society specifically to counter and break the development of the Black working class movement that arose in opposition to conditions after the end of slavery. So it is not simply as though Africans and Indians co- existed without any relation one to the other. Economic competition between Africans and Indians was deliberately created within the construct of the old capitalist order. In 1974 Walter Rodney decided to return to Guyana and take up an appointment at the University of Guyana. Of course, the Forbes Burnham government promptly scuttled his appointment as Professor of History. That same year he joined the Working people's Alliance that became a political party in July of 1979--five months after the Grenada Revolution of March 13, 1979. That same month he was arrested, along with seven other people, for allegedly burning down Government offices. It would be this incident that would propel him to the top of Guyanese politics and ultimately seal his fate. From that time on Walter's life was on the line as threats, harassment and intimidation continued from the Burnham regime that became more and more obsessed with a man that Guyanese across the board saw as the replacement to Linden Forbes Burnham. Under these oppressive conditions the Burnham Government reacted more and more with violence to a restless population now growing fed up with the paramount leader's shenanigans and political grandstanding. Walter was unapologetic about his political work and saw it as rendering a service to the people of Guyana. He was well aware that the Burnham regime was out to get him since President Burnham had allegedly told him to make his will. Certainly among progressive circles in the Caribbean Walter was told that he should not go to Guyana since his life would be in real danger and that the Government would stop at nothing to destroy him. But Walter accepted this as part of the price that he was willing to pay for the liberation of the people of Guyana. On the evening of June 13, 1980 Walter Rodney was assassinated by a bomb placed in a walkie-talkie and detonated remotely. He left behind his wife, Patricia and three children. The Caribbean and Africa lost a gifted intellectual and a skilled political leader.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to enter into the Record the very profound speech giving by Bono, the world-renowned musician and noted humanitarian, during the February 2006 National Prayer Breakfast. As the lead singer and lyricist for the Irish rock band U2, Paul Hewson, better known as Bono, rose to fame as a socially-conscious songwriter who through song has taken many people on spiritual journeys while opening their eyes to the plight of the underprivileged and in some instances inspired people to change. Beyond U2, Bono has extended himself to other projects and causes, and has emerged over the years to be a social activist, having rallied numerous actors, artists, socialites and activists on behalf of the world's poor, particularly those afflicted with the HIV virus in Africa and elsewhere throughout the world. While his international celebrity status has placed him in a position to relax and enjoy fame and wealth, he selflessly dedicates his time to improving our world as a tireless advocate for the less fortunate. Bono has committed himself to continuing to address issues critical to future generations. He faces global crises with conviction and the hope that others will see the pain and suffering in the world and come together in unity to make the World a better place for all mankind. Mr. Speaker: I humbly submit the remarks made by Bono as he addressed an audience that included the President of the United States, the First Lady, King Abdullah of Jordan, members of Congress and other guests during National Prayer Breakfast held in Washington, D.C. in February 2006. Bono's Remarks to the National Prayer Breakfast, February 2, 2006

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to my dear friend and an exemplary American, George Brown, who passed away Friday, March 31, 2006. George made history in his lifetime, as a civil rights trailblazer and a political leader who made a career of serving his community and his country. Born in Lawrence, Kansas on July 1, 1926, George excelled educationally, and in World War II served his country as a member of the famous Tuskegee Airmen. Following the war, he went off to college at a time when only the GI Bill made it possible for African Americans to do so in the face of racial discrimination and economic hardships. He graduated from the University of Kansas in 1950. In the 1960's, as a reporter for the Denver Post, he was part of that cadre of journalists who chronicled the heroic struggles of African Americans and their supporters in the civil rights movement. The tumult of that era helped forge his deep social consciousness. George's entire career was devoted to public service. In the 1950's, he was named to head the Denver Housing Authority. In 1955, he was appointed to the Colorado House of Representatives, and later became the first African American elected to the Colorado State Senate. In 1974 he gained national attention when he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Colorado--the first African American so honored in U.S. history. As a major public figure, he became an influential spokesman for justice and equity in Colorado and beyond. Following retirement from government George worked as a consultant in the private sector in Washington while remaining involved with public causes, including the Boys Choir of Harlem. Just two weeks before his passing, George co-chaired the National Black Peoples Unity Convention in Gary, Indiana, addressing economic strategies to empower African Americans. With all of his professional success, George was first and foremost a family man. I remember his joy with the addition of each new grandchild to his family. He is survived by his wife, Modeen; two sisters, Harriet Baskerville and Laura Gilyard; nine children, Gail Chandler, Cindy Brown, Kim Brown, Laura Mitchell, Angela Ashley, Carolyn Smith, Sharolyn Williams, Nyra Crenshaw, and Ronald Crenshaw, as well as seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. George was not only a great man, but a loyal friend who would always be there to lend a helping hand or to just listen. He was a source of inspiration to me and to everyone who knew him. May God bless him and his family.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the legacy and memory of Ronald H. Brown, the former Secretary of Commerce on this tenth anniversary of his untimely passing and to enter into the Record an article written to Ron Brown's legacy entitled ``The Constituency for Africa Remembers Ron Brown''. On April 3, 1996, Ron Brown and a 34-person United States delegation had concluded a trade mission to the Balkans and were returning to the United States when their airplane crashed into the side of a mountain in Croatia. Ronald Harmon Brown, the first African American to hold the office of U.S. Secretary of Commerce, was born in Washington, D.C. in 1941. He grew up in New York, and with the help of a scholarship attended Middlebury College in Vermont. He received his law degree from St. John's University, attending at night while working by day as a welfare caseworker for the City of New York. He also served for four years in the Army in both Germany and Korea. Brown, a strong, independent leader, was a lawyer, a skilled negotiator, a pragmatic bridge builder and a highly successful past chairmen of the Democratic National Committee. He brought this wide range of experiences to the position of Secretary of Commerce and vowed to reach out to our neighbors abroad to promote long-term economic growth that included rebuilding their industrial bases and working with small business owners and minority entrepreneurs to create and expand employment opportunities. Mr. Speaker, Ronald Brown was an exceptional individual with accomplishments too numerous to list. He left an indelible impression not only in the United States but in many countries abroad. As evidenced by the article that I submit to the Record, I join the Constituency for Africa (CFA), a U.S.-based coalition with interest in Africa, in acknowledging the many contributions made in Africa by the late Secretary of Commerce. (March 31, 2006, Washington, DC) The Constituency for Africa Remembers Ron Brown Apri1 3 marks the tenth anniversary of the plane crash in Croatia which ended the life of late Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown and 34 others traveling with him on a trade mission to the Balkans. The Constituency for Africa (CFA), a Washington, D.C. based coalition of organizations, groups and individuals with interest in Africa, acknowledges the contributions made by the late Secretary in forging U.S. ties with Africa. ``Ron Brown opened the doors to recognition of the importance of the U.S.-Africa relationship, highlighting the trade and investment opportunities, traveling to Africa and supporting organizations seeking to educate, advocate and build ties with Africa,'' said Melvin P. Foote, the Chief Executive Officer of the Constituency for Africa. In celebration of Ron Brown's legacy, CFA established a highly regarded Ronald H. Brown African Affairs series during Congressional Black Caucus Week which features speakers and seminars on critical issues confronting Africa, including issues of health, agriculture, energy and trade. ``The term, `Africa matters' was used by the National Summit on Africa and many other events over recent years, but was first used in a major speech by Ron Brown. He truly put the spotlight on Africa's potential for the Clinton Administration. He got American companies who would never have considered trading and investing, to take a closer look. He also elevated the African diplomatic corps and Africa focused organizations by engaging them in dialogue and showing them the respect he believed they deserved,'' reflected Leonard Robinson, President of the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa. Ron Brown was the first African-American chairman of the Democratic National Committee and the first to travel to sub- Saharan Africa. During that trip in 1990 he talked about political development, but also the importance of trade and investment. Later, when he became Secretary of Commerce, he made good on his belief in the importance of economic development and commercial ties by leading numerous trade missions to Africa including one to South Africa a few days after sanctions were lifted by the U.S.; he opened a U.S. commercial center in South Africa, now named after him; opened and expanded commercial offices in regional hubs throughout Africa; supported passage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act; rallied other U.S. Government Agencies around Africa issues and invited senior officials from those agencies to travel with him to Africa and to develop solutions to problems in a cooperative manner. He helped to create the Corporate Council on Africa and remained a loyal supporter during his tenure as Commerce Secretary. Michael Brown, Board Member of CFA, lobbyist and candidate for Mayor of Washington, DC, reflected on his father's travels to Africa. ``My father is still remembered in many places in Africa. Fellows from the Ron Brown Institute based in Pretoria have been interns in companies in southern Africa. Small and medium sized companies go to the Ron Brown Commercial Center in Johannesburg for help with their commercial transactions. He introduced us to the benefits of commercial diplomacy.'' The Constituency for Africa is a non-profit and non- governmental organization based in Washington, DC, that focuses on advocacy and educational initiatives directed at U.S. Africa policy. CFA's mission is to advocate, educate, inspire, act upon and inform its constituency about issues, concerns and challenges impacting the quality of life for the nations of Africa.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, today Representative Jefferson, Representative McDermott and I are introducing the Trade Preference Extension and Expansion Act. There are three key aspects to this legislation. First, the act would extend for 1 year the trade benefits provided to developing countries under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (``GSP'') and the Andean Trade Preference Act (``ATPA''). Both of these programs currently are scheduled to expire at the end of 2006. Our trade preference programs are critical, not just to workers and businesses in developing countries, but to U.S. workers and businesses. It is important that we extend these programs immediately in order to provide our trading partners, as well as U.S. manufacturers and retailers, the predictability necessary to make business and investment decisions for the future. I have heard some of my colleagues suggest that we should let these programs lapse in order to pressure our trading partners to agree to the demands of U.S. negotiators in ongoing bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations. I agree with my colleagues that we should be seeking the best deals possible with each of our trading partners. However, I disagree with the notion that the United States should threaten all of our developing country trading partners, many of which are struggling to pull themselves out of poverty, with the elimination of current trade benefits in an ill-considered attempt to strengthen our hand at the negotiating table. I do not mean to suggest, however, that our current trade preference programs should never be changed to reflect new realities in trade and the rules of the WTO. For that reason, the Trade Preference Extension and Expansion Act calls for only a 1 year extension of GSP and ATPA. It is important to evaluate how well these programs are working for workers and businesses both in the United States and developing countries--and to consider whether changes should be made to improve the programs. In fact, Representative McDermott, Representative Jefferson and I sent a letter to Chairman Thomas today requesting that the Ways and Means Committee hold hearings as soon as possible to consider the future of GSP and ATPA, as well as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (``AGOA''). I believe it is important that the Congress and all interested stakeholders begin to investigate and consider this issue immediately, as it is likely that Congress will make changes to these programs next year in order to implement agreements negotiated as part of the Doha Development Agenda round of World Trade Organization negotiations. The second key aspect of the Trade Preference Extension and Expansion Act is the extension and expansion of benefits provided to sub-Saharan Africa under AGOA. In the year since the expiration of global textile and apparel quotas, sub-Saharan Africa's exports to the United States of apparel fell by 16 percent, and the sector has lost as many as 100,000 jobs. Further, the textile and apparel industries in sub- Saharan Africa face many challenges beyond the elimination of global quotas, including competition from well-established and sometimes subsidized producers, such as China, and inadequate infrastructure and other supply-side constraints. In recognition of these challenges, the Trade Preference Extension and Expansion Act would extend until December 2007, the current duty- free benefits provided under AGOA for apparel made in least developed African countries from third country fabric. If this benefit is not extended, it will be reduced in half on October 1 of this year, putting at risk the fledgling apparel industries that have provided vitally needed jobs and economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. The Act also would establish a simpler, value-added rule of origin for apparel and extend additional benefits to the textile and agricultural sectors under AGOA. These provisions are intended to enable the textile and apparel industries in sub-Saharan Africa to compete, given the current market reality in the region, which is that African textile mills cannot generally produce fabric in sufficient quantity and variety to meet the needs of African apparel producers or market demand. In addition, these provisions are intended to promote sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa by promoting the diversification of the economies of countries in the region, particularly in the agricultural sector. Representative McDermott, Representative Jefferson and I have put forward these ideas regarding the expansion of benefits for textile, apparel and agricultural products under AGOA as a way to start a discussion among other Members and stakeholders about the best way to promote sustainable economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. We recognize that sub-Saharan Africa faces a wide variety of challenges and that there are potentially several different approaches that could be taken to promote the long-term health of the region. We look forward to working with our colleagues, interested parties in the private sector and civil society, and AGOA country governments to gather additional information about the best ways to address the challenges facing sub- Saharan Africa today, and we stand ready to work in Congress to ensure that the United States continues to play a leadership role in promoting economic development in the region. The third key aspect of the Trade Preferences Extension and Expansion Act is a Sense of the Congress resolution calling on the President to make a determination as soon as possible regarding the extension of AGOA benefits to Liberia. The October 2005 elections in Liberia represented a key step in building peace in Liberia, following nearly two decades of civil war. Further, the election of Ms. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as President of Liberia marks an important milestone for Africa, as President Johnson Sirleaf is the first elected female President in African history. President Johnson Sirleaf has laid out a multifaceted government agenda emphasizing security, public and private-sector led revitalization, good governance and anti-corruption efforts, regional and international cooperation, and political reconciliation and inclusiveness. President Sirleaf Johnson also has made the improvement of workers rights a high priority. In light of recent progress in Liberia and need to promote economic growth in the country, I believe it is important that the President extend AGOA benefits to Liberia as soon as possible. I urge my colleagues to join Representatives McDermott, Jefferson and me in supporting the Trade Preference Extension and Expansion Act.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Ellen Johnson- Sirleaf, the first elected female president of Liberia, for her straight-forward opinion that addresses jurisdictional control for prosecutorial legal action against Charles Taylor, the accused butcher and mutilator of thousands of Africans during one of the deadliest and bloodiest regimes of modern day Liberia and four other African states. I enter into the Record an article from the New York Daily News entitled ``Africa's Leading Lady'' which reveals that African women are coming to the fore, trying to right all of the wrongs put and held in place by a succession of brutal and corrupt African men. Emphasis is placed on the atrocities carried out by Taylor and his followers and mentions how Taylor's greed has ``casually'' reduced Liberia to a pauper state. I personally believe that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, also known as the ``Iron Lady'' for her determination and tenacity, is the very best person to lead Liberia from its dark, tormented past into a bright and productive future. [From the New York Daily News, Mar. 30, 2006] Africa's Leading Lady: President's Gutsy Move vs. Warlord Teaches Valuable Lesson (By Stanley Crouch) When Charles Taylor, the ex-Liberian thug president, was arrested in Nigeria trying to escape the clutches of international law, he was in a car with 110-pound bags of embezzled money. Well, he was not traveling light. Taylor had risen to power after seven years of civil war, had won an election with 75% of the vote and had casually reduced his country to a pauper state. He is accused of starting conflicts in four other African states and encouraging the chopping off of hands, feet, lips and noses in Sierra Leone so that the terrified population would not hinder the sale of stolen diamonds. Taylor is one of those African butchers who could have modeled himself on King Leopold II, the 19th-century Belgian king. Leopold's colonial policies in the Congo resulted in countless slaughters and many mutilations in the interest of producing a profitable rubber crop. Leopold became a pariah among European courts, but naturally black-faced variations in Africa have wielded iron- fisted power without compunction, worrying only about being overthrown by some ambitious fellow monster in the military. If given the time, these monsters have fled to another African country, or to the Arab states, or even to the French Riviera, where they have been able to cool out and impress everyone with their pilfered riches. As the Taylor case has proven, that trend in African politics may be coming to a screeching halt. Ellen Johnson- Sirleaf, the first elected female president in all of Africa, had requested that Nigeria hand over Taylor to the authorities in Sierra Leone, where he would have to face charges of individual butchery, mutilation and crimes against humanity. African women are coming to the fore, trying to right all of the wrongs put and held in place by a succession of brutal and corrupt African men. African justice has been as porous as Swiss cheese for more than 40 years and the African people have suffered enormously while black Americans in or out of elected office, in or out of the civil rights establishment, have either ignored the horrors wrought upon the people or have figured out ways to blame it all on others. The women of Africa are more interested in dealing with the facts than maintaining a cosmetic front of innocence. In a number of places across Africa, we see women rooting out corruption and conceiving laws that will bring them closer to a standard of human equality. Interestingly, Oprah Winfrey, who keeps turning up, has been a model. Winfrey has inspired African women to rebel against rape and kidnap, to defy misogynistic laws and to face up to the ravages of AIDS. It is both sobering and exciting to realize that American women, having been taught much by the civil rights movement, can inspire African women by example, and that elected or appointed African officials can lead the way through the ingrained ignorance, poverty and disease that block human fulfillment. Such human force explains the mystery of African optimism.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce into the record an opinion piece by Eugene Robinson in the March 21, 2006, edition of The Washington Post entitled ``The Planet of Unreality.'' Mr. Robinson opens his article by the statement: ``This is not good.'' He is referring to the absolute detachment from reality evidenced by Vice President Cheney most recently on the Sunday March 19, 2006, program ``Face the Nation.'' On ``Face the Nation'' Vice President Cheney made the jaw-dropping statement that his earlier predictions about the war in Iraq including his infamous pre-invasion prediction that U.S. troops would be ``greeted as liberators'' and his more recent ``the insurgency is in its last throes'' were ``basically accurate and reflect reality.'' Let me second Mr. Robinson's statement: ``This is not good.'' I can find nothing good about the lies, the deliberate effort made by the Vice President to connect the 9/11 attack to the war in Iraq, and the continued rosy pictures of the Iraq War the Vice President continues to make; statements that are unconnected to facts in any way. ``This is not good.'' The Vice President is either deliberately restating his opinions long-ago proved to be lies, or perhaps more frightening, he is now entirely in the grip of pathological self-delusion. I believe the Vice President is continuing his lies and deceit with no care as to whether what he says is true, harmful to our country or deepens even more the profound distrust of the Bush Administration the American people have expressed. The Vice President hurts Americans in a variety of ways. This country, this shining democracy is being hurt, possibly, permanently, by just being the second in command and unaccountable to anyone in an unprecedented way. The fact that President George Bush does not fire him, hold him accountable, or contradict his false statements, creates the assumption on the part of the rest of the world that the U.S. is a rogue state with a Cheney-Bush regime bent on imposing its un-American policies of pre-emptive war, torture of prisoners, disregard of its Constitution and the will of its people. The statements and conduct of Vice President Dick Cheney which can only be characterized as secretive, un-American and unconstitutional create the impression that the American people no longer care about their democracy. His conduct creates the impression that America is a dictatorship, or worse becoming a fascist state. The Vice President's intentional disregard of the Constitution, the Congress and the people of this great country sets the worst standard of conduct for the fledgling democracies the President states we must bring to every country in the world. Mr. Cheney's statements so contrary to the facts are far worse than merely confusing and dizzifying; they are damaging and unmindful of the best interests of this country. Mr. Cheney's reckless disregard for the truth is undermining the already low credibility and esteem in which our government is now held. When the Vice President undermines the credibility of our government he is also violating the Constitution of the United States which he is sworn to uphold. It is no small thing for the Vice President of the United States to have the inglorious reputation of being the power behind the President's war conduct and treatment of prisoners, but to also be recognized as the American official who has most steadfastly insisted, contrary to the truth, that we went to war in Iraq because the attack of September 11, 2001 was carried out by terrorists trained, encouraged or given haven by Saddam Hussein. I find the Vice President a source of deep embarrassment because of his persistent efforts on behalf of his agenda, his devotion to ``the ends justify the means'' mentality and his lack of acknowledgement of the deaths of 2,300 Americans, the wounding and maiming of 17,000 more and the tens of thousands of deaths and maiming of innocent Iraqi civilians. It is clear to me that the Vice President should be removed from office if he does not have sufficient patriotism and good grace to resign for the good of the country. He is engaged in ``business as usual'' with no concern for how this ``business'' affects his country or the world. [From the Washington Post, Mar. 21, 2006] The Planet of Unreality (By Eugene Robinson) This is not good. The people running this country sound convinced that reality is whatever they say it is. And if they've actually strayed into the realm of genuine self- delusion--if they actually believe the fantasies they're spinning about the bloody mess they've made in Iraq over the past three years--then things are even worse than I thought. Here is reality: The Bush administration's handpicked interim Iraqi prime minister, Ayad Allawi, told the BBC on Sunday, ``We are losing each day an average of 50 to 60 people throughout the country, if not more. If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is. Iraq is in the middle of a crisis. Maybe we have not reached the point of no return yet, but we are moving towards this point. . . . We are in a terrible civil conflict now.'' Here is self-delusion: Dick Cheney went on ``Face the Nation'' a few hours later and said he disagreed with Allawi--who, by the way, is a tad closer to the action than the quail-hunting veep. There's no civil war, Cheney insisted. Move along, nothing to see here, pay no attention to those suicide bombings and death-squad murders. As an aside, Cheney insisted that his earlier forays into the Twilight Zone--U.S. troops would be greeted as liberators, the insurgency is in its ``last throes''--were ``basically accurate and reflect reality.'' Maybe on his home planet. Donald Rumsfeld, meanwhile, was busy on The Post's op-ed page, abusing history. Leaving Iraq now, he wrote, ``would be the modem equivalent of handing postwar Germany back to the Nazis.'' The bizarre analogy was immediately disputed by foreign policy sages Henry Kissinger (who noted that there was ``no significant resistance movement'' in Germany after World War II) and Zbigniew Brzezinski (who just called the comparison ``absolutely crazy''). George W. Bush, who speaks as if he has ascended to an even higher plane of unreality, marked the third anniversary of the invasion Sunday by touting a ``strategy that will lead to victory in Iraq.'' I know that ``victory'' is a word that focus groups love, but did anyone else hear an echo of Richard Nixon's ``secret plan'' to end the war in Vietnam? Does anyone else remember that there was no ``secret plan''? It's reprehensible when our highest elected officials act cynically, as I believe this administration has done--Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the rest knew the evidence for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was less than conclusive, but they hyped it anyway to build support for an invasion they were determined to launch. It's dangerous when our leaders act cluelessly, and the Bush White House has done plenty of that as well--experts who called for a much bigger invasion force were silenced and shoved aside, assurances that Iraqi oil revenue would defray U.S. costs turned out to be a sick joke, and there was no effective plan to get the electricity turned on, much less deal with thousands of insurgents. But cynicism and cluelessness are one thing. Actually being divorced from reality is another. Do Bush et al. really see only the democratic process they have installed in Iraq and not the bitter sectarian conflict that process has been unable to quell? Do they realize that whatever happens, there's not going to be a neat package, tied up with a bow, labeled ``victory''--certainly in the 34 months (but who's counting?) that the Bush administration has left in office? Rumsfeld, I think, gets it. ``History is a bigger picture, and it takes some time and perspective to measure accurately,'' he wrote in his op-ed piece, the whole tone of which reminded me of Fidel Castro's famous declaration as he was being jailed after his first, failed attempt at revolution: ``History will absolve me.'' Condoleezza Rice seems to get it, too, telling Australians the other day that ``beyond my lifetime'' people would appreciate what the administration had done for the Middle East. But what about the two men at the top? Cheney lamented this weekend that ``what's newsworthy is the car bomb in Baghdad,'' and ``not all the work that went on that day in 15 other provinces in terms of making progress towards rebuilding Iraq.'' Yesterday Bush recounted a successful anti-insurgent operation in one town, calling it a good-news story that people wouldn't see in their newspapers or on their television screens. Fine, blaming the media is a time-honored tactic. I just hope they're being cynical about it. I hope they don't really believe the nonsense they're trying to sell.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I offer a motion to instruct.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Jamaicans on the commencement of a new era. This week, Ms. Portia Simpson-Miller will be sworn in as the new Prime Minister of the great nation of Jamaica as she leads the People's National Party. Simpson-Miller has been a passionate, longtime voice for the oppressed. Her career in politics has spanned three and a half decades most recently as vice president of the PNP since 1978 and president of the PNP Women's Movement since 1983. Her previous assignments also include several Cabinet portfolios--serving as a Minister of Labour, Welfare and Sport and a Minister of Local Government, Community Development and Sport. By serving her people diligently, she has earned the right to succeed Mr. P.J. Patterson, the island's longest serving Prime Minister. Simpson-Miller is part of a new generation of leaders representing the vanguard of women succeeding in politics throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Not only is her dedication to her people reflected in her experience and length of tenure serving in Jamaican politics, but also in the throngs of supporters who will rejoice in her inauguration. During her election, she was the people's candidate. Now she will become the people's Prime Minister--with Jamaicans both on the island and abroad, even in the great 15th Congressional District of New York hailing her victory. Simpson-Miller is a Jamaican success story; an iconic figure who has become a metaphor for the hopes and aspirations of poor, underprivileged black people, particularly black women. She is a woman of faith, conviction and of the people--traits that will surely be needed to effectively address the problems of entrenched poverty and crime and enhance employment opportunities for youth. Mr. Speaker, please join me in congratulating Prime Minister Designate Simpson-Miller in assuming her new position this week and in holding steadfast to her proven commitment to Jamaicans. [From the CaribNews, Mar. 14, 2006] Carib Woman--Jamaica's New Prime Minister-Designate Born on December 12, 1945 at Wood Hall, St. Catherine Age, Hon. Portia Simpson Miller was educated at St. Martin's High School; Union Institute and University of Miami, Florida (BA Public Administration); Jamaica Institute of Management/ University of California, Berkeley (certificate in Advanced Management); and completed Harvard (Executive Program for Leaders in Development at the John F. Kennedy School of Government). Simpson Miller was awarded an shonorary doctorate by Union Institute and University for her `enduring efforts to improve the quality of life for all Jamaican citizens regardless of race, class, color or creed'. She is married to businessman, Errald Miller, a former telecoms executive with Cable & Wireless Jamaica; she enjoys reading, music, boxing and horseback riding. Her career in politics has spanned three and a half decades; debuting as KSAC councilor in the early 1970s; then Member of Parliament for South West St. Andrew since 1976; vice president of the PNP since 1978; and president, PNP Women's Movement since 1983. Simpson Miller has consistently topped opinion polls as Jamaica's most beloved political personality for many years but has had to beat back detractors inside and outside her party who claim she lacks the requisite intellectual and social credits to lead the country. Her career in government has included several Cabinet portfolios. As Minister of Labor, Welfare and Sport, she developed a new Overseas Recruitment Center, created the National Insurance Fund, established a chair in Labor Studies at the University of the West Indies, presided over long periods of harmonious relations between employers, workers and trade unions and established the National Council on the Aged. As Minister of Tourism and Sport and Minister of Local Government, Community Development and Sport, she has taken steps to establish a sports medicine and treatment facility for injured athletes. She also has had responsibility for the Women's portfolio. Hon. Portia Simpson Miller has undertaken international assignments on local government for the Organization of American States (OAS) and is chair of the Caribbean Forum of Ministers Responsible for Decentralization, Local Government, Community Development and Citizen Participation as well as board member of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum. Her campaign focused on themes of empowerment for the marginalized, especially the poor, and uniting all classes to tackle deep-rooted problems of crime and economic underdevelopment.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise again to strongly support the words spoken by the Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Honorable P.J. Patterson, in an effort to bring to light challenges facing the region and his proposals for what actions need to take place to secure a brighter future for the Caribbean nations. I would also like to enter into the Record the second portion of his speech delivered March 9 to the Protocolary Session of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States on the theme of ``Caribbean Integration In Emerging Hemispheric Relations''. Democracy, Security and Development I am convinced that unless we focus in a meaningful way on the intrinsic link between democracy, good governance and international security on the one hand, and development on the other, our goals for peace, stability and political and economic security will always remain elusive. We must therefore address the development agenda with the same energy and commitment as we have sought to strengthen the democratic agenda, giving each equal dedication, in order that the benefits of democracy can be widely felt to improve the quality of life for our peoples. When Heads of Government of the Hemisphere met during the 4th Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata, Argentina last November, we jointly committed ourselves to the task of Creating Jobs to Fight Poverty and Strengthen Democratic Governance in the Hemisphere. Our Declaration, issued at the end of the meeting, was a clarion call for sustained, long term and equitable economic growth that creates jobs, reduces poverty, eliminates hunger and raises the standard of living for the most vulnerable sectors and social groups in our diverse societies. We also stressed the need to expand trade, as a means of boosting growth and our capacity to generate more, higher quality, and better-paying jobs. As small open economies, CARICOM countries are highly dependent on trade as the primary driver of economic and social growth, and by extension the stability and democracy of the region. In 1994, when we launched the Summit of the Americas process, Jamaica and the rest of CARICOM readily put our efforts and scarce human, financial and technical resources into ensuring that our collective vision of prosperity in the Americas would become a reality. Four years later, we formally launched the FTAA negotiations, fully cognizant of the contribution that economic integration and trade liberalization in the Americas could make to create jobs, fight poverty and strengthen democratic governance in our Hemisphere. It is with disappointment that on the eve of my departure from office as Prime Minister of Jamaica and Chairman of the Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on External Negotiations of CARICOM, the FTAA is faltering on the rock of political will. CARICOM is fully committed to the goal and objectives of the Summit of the Americas generally. If the FTAA has no future, we must be realistic and begin to explore new alternatives. Given the slow progress to date in the Doha Development Round of multilateral negotiations, we need to find a hemispheric impetus for advancing discussions on key issues in the WTO. For example, the Work Programme for Small Economies in the DDA as well as the recent Aid For Trade initiative could build on the initiatives and acceptance by Hemispheric Heads at our Fourth Summit, that smaller economies should be recognised as a special category of countries. Special and differential treatment in favour of smaller economies have to be an accepted fundamental principle of whatever negotiations we pursue. Our collective vision of growth, economic prosperity and stability for the Hemisphere must not be confined to the narrow territorial boundaries of the hemisphere. Let us broaden the boundaries of our collaboration beyond the OAS and the United Nations. It is high time for the Caribbean and Latin American countries to pool our collective bargaining resources in the WTO, where we also have common goals and concerns. Every effort must be made to bring Haiti into full participating in the various trade negotiations in the hemisphere and the WTO. In this case, there can be no question about the need for special and differential treatment and technical assistance. Let me place on record the appreciation of CARICOM for the contribution of OAS and CIDA to technical assistance and capacity building. As we contemplate the multiple trade agendas facing our region, there will be need for sustained assistance to ensure our adjustment and implementation of these new obligations. How can we then ensure that actions taken at the hemispheric level dovetail automatically into the regional development agenda, the two processes working simultaneously towards a united objective? I will return to my own thoughts on this later in my presentation. Integration--A Response to Globalisation The emergence of various economic blocs across the globe is not mere coincidence, but a natural progression towards strengthening the ability of individual countries to use their collectivity to face the new era of international economic relations. Smaller units operating on their own can no longer be viable counterweights in this rapidly changing world. Based on this recognition, we in this hemisphere have not shied away from the inevitable and we see the integration movement as our best response to the challenges we face. The establishment of CARICOM, MERCOSUR, THE Andean Group et al, are therefore regional ``lifelines'' cast upon the turbulent waters of globalisation. Let me share briefly with you, some of the challenges we face in the Caribbean. We have been seriously affected by the EU's stipulation as it relates to bananas and sugar. In the case of the former, we have expressed the importance of the higher tariff of Euro 275/t to ensure adequate protection is in place for our farmers. For sugar, the proposed cut of some 39% is a grave concern for us, as is the proposed timetable for implementation over a four-year period. In 2004 damage from Hurricane Dennis totalled some US$40million. The impact was much greater in 2005, with more hurricanes affecting the agricultural and tourism sectors, and even more horrible damage to our infrastructure. Through these illustrations, which in some cases may be magnified based on the country in the region you choose, I proffer today, that our solutions for the various sub-regions we represent and by extension, the hemisphere, cannot be simple, unilateral or implemented overnight. CARICOM formally launched the Single Market just over a month ago and we hope to move towards the Single Economy by 2008, as we had envisaged in the Grand Anse Declaration of 1989 in Grenada. We have, through the methodical, comprehensive and measured approach, taken the necessary steps to ensure that our modus operandi, carries with it the philosophy, that no country will be left behind. For this reason, we in CARICOM have been careful to elaborate plans for a Regional Development Fund to assist in the adjustment period. We also fervently believe that at the hemispheric level, no country should be left behind. Over the years and even now, we have put in place a number of other institutional arrangements that seek to ensure a structured operation through which we hope any future transition can be seamless and effective. CARICOM Heads entertain no misconceptions of the challenges we face. If we are to effectively deliver on the objectives in our revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, we must take some bold steps and remain unswerving in the commitment to achieve the targets. The moment has arrived for us to now seek solid bipartisan commitment to national and regional goals, which will then translate into full integration into other institutional arrangements. The strength of governance will only be enhanced when we are able to replace the retracing of steps by different administrations, with a brisk walk forward towards our common goals. Education must be an engine driving growth and pushing development. The technology-driven world we live in today demands knowledge, skills, research and solutions, and a thirst for answers by our youth. We must facilitate that process at all levels to ensure that progression from one level to the other, from one discipline to the next, takes place consistently. If we are to achieve these objectives as outlined in the Millennium Development Goals, the Charters of the Organization and the Strategic Plan, we must act now on this other pillar of development. Justice and the rule of law in all its forms, at all levels, must exist without compromise or prejudice. We have to exercise the will to maintain law and order, not merely through the imposition of penalties but through the encouragement of a sense of just, law-abiding and ordered behaviour by all our citizens. Too much of our resources are being spent on managing conflict and security and therefore preventing us from providing more, as opposed to securing less, as we do now. Sometimes when we seek to solve larger problems, such as the challenges to globalisation, we over-think and over- analyse them and by-pass the adherence to the fundamentals. We must always be mindful of the basic elements, the smallest cogs in the wheels, the importance of measurements. Let me now address an issue which is very close to my heart. The conduct of international and institutional relations can only be improved when we allow principle, integrity, honour and justice to prevail. The people we lead and the interests we serve are looking to us to provide enlightened and inspired leadership. That expectation becomes magnified with every decision we are called upon to take, because we are more interdependent than we have ever been before. Security, health and environment issues remind us daily of our own vulnerability as individuals and countries and behove us to be mindful of these concerns at all levels. The recent outrage in the Muslim world recalls for us the far-reaching effect of our actions and by extension our own intolerances. We must guard against these inclinations. Inclusion and inclusiveness must be one of the principles which we use to dovetail our own actions and create what I would call concentric circles of goodwill. The old adage holds true today that ``we will reap what we sow''. Let us be mindful of the seeds we put down today, to avoid reaping bitter fruits in the future. Sixty years after its creation, the OAS is summoned to face bold new challenges which confront our entire Hemisphere. In order to adequately respond, the modality by which it operates must change. It must avoid sterile debate and become an instrument of positive change. This requires that it become an effective Institution for decision-making at the highest political and economic levels. This must be your quest for the decade ahead. Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, It has indeed been a pleasure for me to address you today; to share my thoughts and to issue a charge and a challenge to you all. As life and experience have taught me, the process of learning never ends. As we learn we must impart, for in the words of Khalil Gibran--``to withhold is to die''. We have a tremendous responsibility to make the world safer and better, for those who have placed their confidence in us. We have many opportunities to do so everyday by our own conduct and leadership. Let us not deny ourselves a Hemisphere of social justice where peace, prosperity and harmony will prevail.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the significance of the Harriet Tubman Spirit Awards, created to honor women of New York State who have perpetuated Tubman's legacy and her humanitarian accomplishments and to praise the 15 women chosen to be recipients of such a prestigious honor. Harriet Ross Tubman was a great liberator who was a monument to courage and determination in the fight for freedom and human rights for slaves in bondage. Harriet Tubman was called the ``Moses'' of her people. She was born on a plantation in Maryland, in or around 1820, and escaped from slavery in 1849. Upon gaining her freedom, Harriet Tubman settled in Philadelphia where she met William Still, the Philadelphia ``Stationmaster'' of the ``Underground Railroad.'' In 1850, Harriet Tubman became a ``conductor'' on the Underground Railroad and eventually became the most influential of all the ``conductors'' by returning to the South 19 times through the Underground Railroad, freeing 300 slaves. In the mid-1850's, Harriet Tubman made the acquaintance of United States Senator, Secretary of State and former New York State Governor William H. Seward and his wife, Frances, in Auburn, New York. In 1857, the Sewards provided a home for Harriet Tubman in Auburn, which she later purchased and used as new headquarters for the Underground Railroad. Since 1995, New York State has assisted with efforts to recognize Harriet Tubman's legacy. In 1999, the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) helped to document and list Tubman's historic brick home, her church and her gravesite in the Fort Hill Cemetery to the State and National Registers of Historic Places. In February 2001, Governor Pataki announced the creation of a $1.4 million Underground Railroad Heritage Trail Grant Program to enhance heritage tourism and support site improvements at historic sites and interpretive centers commemorating the Underground Railroad across New York State. In addition, the Governor committed more than $280,000 in Bond Act funds to restore Harriet Tubman's home in Auburn. An additional $100,000 was provided in 2002 to help restore the Harriet Tubman Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, also in Auburn, New York. In 2003, Governor George E. Pataki proclaimed March 10th as ``Harriet Tubman Day''. He then officially signed into law a bill designating the day as a day of commemoration in New York State for the life and heroic contributions of Harriet Ross Tubman. Governor Pataki chose March 10th because it is the day Harriet Tubman died in 1913 at the age of 93. As part of the State's tribute, the second annual New York State Governor's Harriet Tubman Spirit Awards were presented to 15 women, whose accomplishments strongly embraced the spirit of Harriet Tubman, The 15 honorees have shown through their tireless efforts significant contributions to the culture and well being of New York and have paved the way for future leaders in the ongoing fight for human rights. All of these women, like Harriet Tubman, possess a pioneering spirit of excellence. The 2006 Harriet Tubman Spirit Award recipients were: Zenaida Chape', NYC Humanitarian and Community Advocate; Sarah Curry-Cobb, Pioneer and Civil Rights Advocate from Albany: Dr. Joan O. Dawson, NYC Educator and Youth Advocate; Patricia A. Devine, Youth Advocate from Albany; Maria Ginter, Diversity and Community Advocate from Albany; Mona Golub, Pioneer and Cultural Arts Advocate from Schenectady; Alvania Hill, Educator from Albany; Sharon Jordan Holley, Educator and Historian from Buffalo; Reverend Carolyn Peterson-Vaccaro, Women and Family Advocate from Albany; Frances Ethel Powell Pratt, Civil Rights Advocate from Nyack; Ruth Russell, Health and Community Advocate from Rensselaer; Dr. Cecilia Sanz, Children and Family Advocate from Albany; Rose Stuart, Pioneer and Family Advocate from Albany; Meilin Tan, NYC Humanitarian and Entrepreneur and Benita Zahn, Health and Media Advocate from Albany. Mr. Speaker, please join me in recognizing this stellar award and the very deserving recipients during the 2nd anniversary month of the New York State Governor's Harriet Tubman Spirit Awards.