Silvestre Reyes

Mr. REYES

Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I enter into the Congressional Record a request made by the Texas State Legislature asking that Members of Congress maintain its commitment to America's military retirees over the age of 65; to enact legislation that affords military retirees the ability to access health care either through military treatment facilities or through the military's network of health care providers, as well as legislation to require opening the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program to those uniformed services beneficiaries who are eligible for Medicare on the same basis and conditions that apply to retired federal civilian employees; and to enact any other appropriate legislation that would address these concerns. Military retirees who have served honorably for 20 or more years constitute a significant part of the aging population in the United States. These retirees were encouraged to make the United States Armed Forces a career, in part by the promise of lifetime health care for themselves and their families. Prior to age 65, these retirees are provided health services by the United States Department of Defense's TRICARE Prime program, but those retirees who reach the age of 65 lose a significant portion of the promised health care due to Medicare eligibility. Many of these retirees are also unable to access military treatment facilities for health care and life maintenance medications because they live in areas where there are no military treatment facilities or where these facilities have downsized so significantly that available space for care has become non-existent. The loss of access to health care services by the military has resulted in the government breaking its promise of lifetime health care. Without continued affordable health care, including pharmaceuticals, these retirees have limited access to quality health care and significantly less care than other retired federal civilians have under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. It is necessary to enact legislation that would restore health care benefits equitable with those of other retired federal workers. Several proposals to meet this requirement are currently under consideration before the United States Congress and the federal Department of Defense and Department of Health and Human Services; of these proposals, the federal government has already begun to establish demonstration projects around the country to be conducted over the next three years, which would allow Medicare to reimburse the Department of Defense for the costs of providing military retirees and their dependent health care; this project would allow a limited number of Medicare eligible beneficiaries to enroll in the Department of Defense's TRICARE Prime Program and receive all of their health care under that program. Mr. Speaker, I would like to reaffirm the necessity in enacting legislation for military retirees health coverage over the age of 65. These individuals are entitled to fair and equitable access of health care. The principle resources for this to be done would be through proper military treatment facilities supplemented with a choice in a network of health care providers. Opening the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, which already applies to retired federal civilian employees, should be offered to uniformed services beneficiaries in order to ensure equitable benefits for all federal employees.

Mr. REYES

Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, in celebration of Taiwan's National Day, I wish to express support for President Lee Teng-hui, Vice President Lien Chan and Premier Vincent Siew as they take the difficult steps to rebuild their nation in the aftermath of last month's devastating earthquake. As someone who has visited the Republic of China on several occasions since becoming a member of the United States Congress, I have gained a tremendous appreciation for Taiwan and its 21 million citizens. Taiwan has developed into a world manufacturing and commercial center. Furthermore, their geographic presence in the Pacific is vital to our national security interests. As a consequence, the bonds between our nations are extensive and deep. Hence our nation listened with great concern and sadness as we heard of the devastating earthquake on September 21st. The cost of this natural disaster is unimaginable, with millions of dollars in damage and over two thousand fatalities. As this tragedy unfolded, our country immediately responded to assist in Taiwan's recovery. The United States government has mobilized search and rescue teams and emergency personnel to assist Taiwan in recovering and rehabilitation efforts. With this assistance, along with additional rescue teams from around the world, some of the pain of this crisis has been alleviated. Certainly the road to recovery will neither be quick nor easy, however, I am confident that the resilience and strength of the Taiwanese people will allow them to overcome the challenges of reconstruction. During Taiwan's National Day, I wish to offer my condolences to the Taiwanese government and all Taiwanese citizens. The United States stands ready to assist them during this difficult time.

Mr. REYES

Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1663, the National Medal of Honor Memorial Act. This is a good bill because it honors the incredible courage and valor of our most distinguished veterans. Moreover, it ensures that future generations of Americans will know of the great sacrifices made by these men and women who answered the call to national service for their country. Medal of Honor winners have shown that they were willing to defend our liberty no matter what the price. Their heroism in battle has become legendary. Since the Civil War, our country has recognized their outstanding acts of courage and bravery through the Congressional Medal of Honor. As there have been only 3,429 award winners in the history of our Nation, these veterans truly occupy a very special place in the hearts of all Americans. Therefore, I think that it is important that we designate sites around the country as national memorials for our Medal of Honor winners. With this bill, we recognize memorials in Riverside, California; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, to honor the contributions to our freedom and to our country of these brave, fine Americans. I therefore strongly endorse this legislation, and I urge all my colleagues to join in unanimously approving this bill.

Mr. REYES

Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.J. Res. 65 which commends our World War II veterans who fought in the Battle of the Bulge. This is a great bill because it honors the determination and the courage of these veterans in stopping the last great Nazi counteroffensive of World War II. History tells us that the fighting in Belgium sealed the victory for the allies in Europe. Without this victory, many additional months of fighting would have been necessary before Nazi Germany's surrender. Our troops overcame superior numbers of Nazi troops and harsh weather to repel and turn back this last great offensive of World War II. Victory, however, came at a terrible price, with about 81,000 American casualties, 19,000 of which were killed. Each and every veteran of the Battle of the Bulge witnessed the horrors of war. One of those was my own father-in-law, Victor Gaytan, who today is a disabled veteran who lives with the wounds he suffered defending our freedom against that threat in Belgium that winter. Today, my wife and I are honored to have him live with us. Yes, at 79 he walks a little slower, moves at times hesitantly and with great pain; but when you look into his eyes, there is no doubt about his role in saving our country and our way of life. He is a hero to us and was one of those great Americans that courageously turned back the last desperate attempt of the Nazis to stop Allied momentum toward Germany. Mr. Speaker, I believe that we can never sufficiently express our gratitude to these veterans, America's greatest generation. But this legislation is a proper and fitting way to honor them and their service to their country. With this legislation, we honor these American soldiers and we ensure that future generations of Americans remember the price of freedom in Europe and around the world during World War II. I strongly support this legislation and urge the House to unanimously pass this great bill.

Mr. REYES

Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. As a Nation, Mr. Speaker, we are seeing a growing population of older veterans whose health care needs are increasingly complex and, in some cases, serious. Moreover, these veterans are entering a system which is in transition, moving toward a greater outpatient and community-based treatment. At the same time, the VA is suffering under straining and insufficient budgets, this bill is vital as it restores security and confidence in veterans' health care in this changing environment. Therefore, as a member of the Committee on Veterans Health Affairs, I am proud that this bill focuses on important priorities, including long-term services and reimbursement for emergency care services to our veterans. In addition, I am pleased that this bill requires input and planning as the Veterans Administration attempts to restructure and modernize its facilities so that the VA will continue to treat veterans regardless of their health care provider. In addition, I am proud of the provisions which strengthen long-term care. We have seen reduced levels of long-term care as veterans are prematurely discharged from long-term care facilities. Inadequate time in long-term care is a short-sighted method of trying to care for larger numbers of aging veterans. This bill attacks this problem by assuring that veterans with health care conditions due to military service can obtain long-term care for as long as they need it. Also, I am pleased that that bill makes sure that veterans are reimbursed for emergency care no matter where they get that treatment. Veterans and their families deserve to know that they can obtain emergency care and not later be financially strapped or devastated because the VA refuses to reimburse them. This bill rectifies this situation, following the request of the VA and the President's Patients' Bill of Rights. It also allows VA to reimburse any high priority enrolled veterans for medical emergencies. In summary, this millennium bill is the most comprehensive health care bill for veterans in the past 5 years. It provides a framework that better ensures that the views of veterans, employees, and veterans' advocates are taken into account and that the VA finds the best way to care for our Nation's veterans. Health care for our veterans should not be compromised. With this bill, we are taking important steps to ensure that we meet our needs and our obligations to these proud Americans who have sacrificed so much for our country. I, therefore, am pleased and proud to support this bill, and I ask all my colleagues to join in passing this important legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Ms. Carson).

Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).

Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Baldacci).

Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), the ranking Democratic member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, has been unavoidably detained, so I will be managing the bill on his behalf this afternoon. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Veterans Millennium Health Care Act, H.R. 2116. I thank the gentleman from Arizona (Chairman Stump); the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans); the ranking member, the gentleman from Florida (Chairman Stearns); and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Gutierrez), the ranking Democratic member of the Subcommittee on Health for their fine work on this measure and their support in incorporating certain provisions. The gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) has long supported in this important bill the issues that are very important and vital for our veterans. This is an ambitious, but realistic bill. It recognizes recent disturbing trends in funding for veterans health care, notwithstanding the committee's support of significant funding increases. This bill will better assure Congress that the VA is continuing to meet vital needs for long-term care services for our veterans. It gives Congress better assurance that the Veterans' Administration will plan effectively for ways to continue treating veterans, regardless of the health care setting. It will also allow high-priority veterans, who regularly use the VA system, to receive reimbursement for emergency care services. The millennium plan establishes a good baseline for meeting veterans' needs for long-term health care. It provides that veterans with the highest priority for care, those with health care conditions due to military service, receive all of the long-term care that they actually need. This measure also contains a report-and-wait requirement. This responds to the concerns that VA is dismantling its inpatient programs without adequately planning to fulfill veterans' needs in outpatient or community settings. This measure also further allows the Veterans' Administration to reimburse certain enrolled veterans for medical emergency expenditures. Veterans who rely on the Veterans' Administration for their health care have been financially devastated by medical emergencies which require them to seek care from the closest available health care facility. Veterans have been told by the VA staff to go to the closest health care facility for emergency care; but once the bills come, the VA has refused repeatedly to reimburse these veterans. The VA should not abandon these veterans when they have a health care emergency. This millennium bill will also require the Veterans' Administration to work with chiropractors to develop a policy that will allow veterans better access to chiropractic services within the Veterans' Administration. It is abundantly clear that the VA is not operating in a world of unlimited resources. I believe that this bill has many positive gains for veterans while not imposing unreasonable new costs onto an already fiscally strapped system. I endorse this ambitious bipartisan legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have remaining?

Mr. REYES

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I find it a bit ironic. I have been trying to get to the floor today to speak to a number of issues, a number of concerns that deal with veterans. I want to first of all, Mr. Chairman, thank the gentleman from California for coming out to my district last week to attend a veterans town hall meeting. At this town hall meeting we discussed a number of issues, a number of concerns that were raised that were raised by our veteran population. There are a number of things that we deal with in this House that are vitally important. I cannot think of a single thing that is more important than the issue of benefits that were promised to our veterans and benefits on which we have not kept our word. That message came across loud and clear last week. That message is coming across loud and clear this afternoon in this House. There is a tremendous, deep sense of frustration by our veteran community that they have been betrayed by their government. This issue here, whether we are talking about the amount of funding proposed, the amount of funding that was approved, the amount of funding that theoretically is or is not, this in the eyes and minds of our veterans is irrelevant. It is irrelevant because they have a deep sense of frustration when they go to the VA hospital, to the VA clinic, to the military hospital. They are asked to wait 4 to 6 months for an appointment. It is irrelevant because this afternoon, as I was sitting in a hearing dealing with diabetes, diabetes that affects our veteran population as well as the rest of the population in this country, veterans are frustrated because they cannot get the kind of medical attention they need and that they must have. It seems to me that as we talk and talk about issues dealing with the Veterans Administration about who proposes a budget here, who counters with an equal amount of money there, the bottom line keeps coming back, we are not doing the job for veteran communities. We must do better. We have to do better. Our veterans deserve better. Let me tell the Members, the veterans understand, by virtue of the frustration that they expressed last week in a town hall meeting in El Paso, they understand that we are not doing the job for them, that we are not coming through on the promises that were made. The last thing I would like to say, Mr. Chairman, in closing, is that as we deal with the Veterans Administration budget, I hope that we have a sense of obligation to our veterans community. I hope that we can stand alongside our veterans, and I hope that finally we realize that we owe them, in a time of great prosperity in this country, we owe them that funding that the veterans service organizations have identified and they have proposed.

Mr. REYES. I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for his comments. Let me just in closing, Mr. Chairman, say that I have a deep sense of frustration when in our own committee we are unable to bring forth and even get a vote on the budget that was proposed by the veterans service organizations. Frustration is going round and round, but the buck stops here. The buck stops here in the people's House. Point of Order

Mr. REYES

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment. I believe that as Members of Congress, we should fully explore issues before making a determination as to their merits. As such, before I decided my position on the U.S. Army School of the Americas, I met with opponents of the school and I also visited the facility. At the school, I met with the Commandant. I met with professors--both U.S. military and those from elsewhere in this hemisphere. I met with students. I visited classes. The Army made all of the school open and available to me. My visit convinced me that the School of the Americas is providing an essential service to this nation, assisting in our attempts to positively influence countries throughout the Americas. On more than one occasion, I have personally invited many of my colleagues who oppose the school to visit the facility with me, but none have agreed to do so. On May 12, I invited many of my colleagues to join me for breakfast with Army Secretary Louis Caldera and School of the Americas Commandant Colonel Glenn Weidner. They were available to answer any questions Members have concerning the school. Only five Members came. Caldera and Weidner explained, among other things, that the School of the Americas is a U.S. Army school. It teaches the same doctrine, tactics, techniques, and procedures as are taught at every other Army school. Some of my colleagues complain that students are being taught war fighting skills. They are the same war fighting skills taught at every other Army school. I want you to remain mindful of all of the organizations within the federal government that believe the School of the Americas is a critical tool for promoting democracy and teaching respect for civilian control of a nation and respect for human rights. The Department of State, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Army, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Southern Command have all strongly endorsed the School of the Americas as critical to our foreign policy in Latin America. Officials from each of these organizations have written strong letters of support for the school. Finally, before you cast a vote today to eliminate a school that has provided a great service to this country for more than 50 years, I would ask that you take the time to visit the school, or at least, take the time to meet with its supporters. If you have not had time to do so, please do not vote to kill the school at this time. Once it is eliminated, we cannot take that back. Instead, please vote against the amendment and take the time to explore this issue more fully over the next year. I urge you to oppose the elimination of School of the Americas.

Mr. REYES

Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this motion by my good friend from Missouri. This motion instructs conferees to retain the provisions of the defense authorization legislation relating to the goals for the conflict in Yugoslavia. Maintaining this language will allow us to recognize the brave men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces who have served this Nation so well. Through their efforts and the efforts of our allies in NATO, we have stopped a brutal tyrant from continuing his attempts to destroy a region and its people. This motion not only praises our uniformed personnel, but it also recognizes the critical contributions of their families. Without the sacrifices of the husbands and wives and children back home, we could not have accomplished our military goals. When we debated the defense authorization on the floor of this House, the military conflict was underway. Now, however, we are afforded an opportunity to show our thanks on the record for the victory that they have achieved. Now, as the peacekeeping work begins, we must continue to support the military's efforts and stand by our military men and women in the field and their military and civilian leaders. I urge my colleagues to vote for this motion.

Mr. REYES

Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time; and as a member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I am proud we are considering today H.R. 2280, the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 1999. This bill is truly a product of our concerns and the input and concerns of all the Members of this House, the VA, our veterans service organizations, and the rest of our committee. It improves veterans benefits on many issues of vital importance to our veterans and their families. Mr. Speaker, this bill recognizes the needs of our aging veterans; and we can all be proud of this bill's provisions that provide for additional borrowing which gives authority for the World War II memorial. This will expedite the construction of this monument and allow for its completion. In addition, the bill will establish four new cemeteries and requires a complete study to improve and enlarge all of our existing national cemeteries. Our veterans deserve nothing less. And they deserve to be buried with dignity and honor, and their families deserve to have the ability to pay their respects without any further sacrifices. I am also encouraged that this bill assists our homeless veterans by expanding upon the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program. Too many of our brave men and women are out on the streets without shelter and without hope. This bill will expand the outreach of this program. Let me also say that I am pleased that this bill improves benefits in a number of other areas that reflects on our Nation's commitment to our veterans. A key provision of the bill will provide permanent eligibility of our reservists who spend more than 6 years and will qualify them for VA housing benefits. Also, the bill expands eligibility for surviving spouses of former POWs who are currently disqualified from receiving dependency and indemnity compensation. The bill, as has been mentioned this morning, will further provide for annual cost of living allowances for those veterans receiving this kind of compensation. All of these provisions will enhance our commitment to our veterans and their loved ones. In addition, I am pleased we are continuing to work to recognize the circumstances of our atomic era veterans through an additional presumption of service-connected disability for a rare form of cancer. Finally, Mr. Speaker, as a veteran myself and someone that represents over 50,000 veterans in my district, I can tell my colleagues that the delays and errors in the veterans' benefits claims process are very frustrating. The enhanced quality assurance program set forth in this bill will help to address this very serious situation for all our veterans. Given the courage and the valor of our veterans and the sacrifices that have been made by them for our country, we owe them nothing less. I strongly support this legislation and urge my colleagues and the entire House to join in the passage of this comprehensive veterans legislation.

Mr. REYES

Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation congratulating and commending the Veterans of Foreign Wars on their 100-year anniversary. As a life member of the VFW and a proud member of the Northeast VFW Post 2451 in El Paso, I can tell my colleagues that the VFW is an outstanding organization. The work that the VFW carries on on behalf of our Nation's veterans is noteworthy and exemplary, as has been cited by a number of my colleagues. They are outstanding advocates for veterans, veterans' issues, and the issues that concern veterans' families both here in Washington and in the communities that they serve and literally communities throughout our country. Their forceful testimony before the Committees on Veterans' Affairs each spring and throughout the year is an extremely valuable and noteworthy part of everything that we do for veterans on the Hill. Moreover, I welcome their visit to this Nation's Capitol as an excellent opportunity for all of us here in Washington to obtain their unique insights and to learn of their concerns as we work to maintain our commitment to our veterans. In addition, the VFW makes a tremendous contribution towards protecting and enhancing veterans' health care and benefits with their part in the preparation of the ``independent budget'' each and every year. This document is a benchmark in the formulation of the annual veterans' budget, and I want to take this opportunity to say how much all of us in Congress appreciate the recommendations forwarded through this document on their behalf. Through every generation, the VFW has stood up for our men and women who have served overseas in defense of our Nation and for the basic principles of freedom and liberty. Finally, Mr. Speaker, let me say that a century of service, advocacy, and support on behalf of veterans is truly a milestone to commemorate. Let this anniversary serve to remind us all of the contributions of our veterans and never take for granted the sacrifices made on behalf of liberty. I urge all my colleagues to join in support of this bill and look forward to the quick passage and enactment into law of this resolution recognizing the VFW on their 100th anniversary.

Mr. REYES

Mr. REYES. I am proud to be in the well of the House this evening to thank President Clinton and to thank the NATO alliance. Over and over in the past weeks we heard it would never hold together. It held together. It brought about the desired successful conclusion that is going to, I think, write yet another chapter in the great history of this country where we do not do things because they are easy, we do not do things because they are simple, but we do do things, no matter how difficult the task, because they are the right thing to do. I am proud of the President, I am proud of our men and women in uniform, and I am proud of those of my colleagues that stood with our President.

Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. I am one of those that took the opportunity to go to the region, to the Balkans, and take a firsthand look at what was occurring. I will tell my colleagues, Mr. Speaker, that I had an opportunity to go, not once, not twice, but three times into this region. In fact, on Easter Sunday, I was in Prague and had the opportunity to go to the NATO bunker that was recently admitted to the NATO alliance, the Czech Republic had made available. That day that I was there, on Easter Sunday at that NATO bunker, the Czech Republic cleared 130 sorties to go through their airspace to bomb Yugoslavia. I mention that because it is very significant when we have heard over an over the last few weeks that, first of all, a bombing campaign would never work, a bombing campaign would not bring about the desired effect and the desired impact to force Milosevic to come to the peace table. Interestingly enough, every time I heard that, it was being espoused normally by people that have never been on the receiving end of a bombing campaign or a mortar attack or any of those. Having had the experience of Vietnam and having been involved in some of those attacks, I can tell my colleagues that there is nothing more taxing, more horrifying that makes one feel more helpless than being attacked by bombs or mortars. So to those that were criticizing the strategy, I say it worked. It is something that we all have to recognize and give credit where credit is due to the President and to the whole NATO alliance. We also heard over and over, what is our interest in the region? What kind of national interests could we possibly have? I think a number of my colleagues this evening have gone over that interest and that compelling and overwhelming obligation that we, as Americans, can take full pride in tonight and in the coming days that President Clinton took the tough stand, made the tough decisions, and ultimately brought Milosevic to the peace table and provided us an opportunity to once more see how great we as a country and as a nation can be. Even though over the past few weeks we have not all been in complete agreement, we have not all been satisfied that all the things that were happening and that were occurring were being done according to the strategy or according to the game plan, but one thing that we do know tonight and that we have known since Milosevic came to the peace table is that we have so many thousands of refugees that are grateful for the role that the United States and NATO played in giving them the opportunity to go back and regain what they had, go back and take hold of what we hope is the future, the rest of their lives in their home country, in their home turf. We heard a lot of the pundits night after night after night telling the American people and the audience worldwide that the refugees that had left their homes would never want to go back. They were wrong. They were wrong, and they should admit it. Just like they were wrong about the air strategy and the bombing campaign that it would never work, it worked. They should admit it. Part of the compelling story, part of what I hope is chronicled in this campaign and in this great humanitarian effort led by the United States and NATO is the tremendous impact that it had on many thousands of individuals of every size and every age and every description, many thousands of individuals that were forced to flee their homes. I would ask the American people tonight to stop and reflect for a moment what would happen to them personally if they were to suffer this contend of trauma, a trauma that to us is unimaginable, to us it is incomprehensible because we cannot even begin to imagine what it would be like to be forced out of our homes and to be forced into the refugee camps and the conditions of which my colleagues and I had a first-hand look, and conditions that today are going to be resolved by allowing these refugees to go back to their homeland.

Mr. REYES

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to rise in support of the Gallegly amendment to the juvenile justice bill. Today, as we consider this bill, it would be wrong for us not to address the issue of gangs and the increasing numbers of juveniles that are being recruited into their ranks. As someone who spent 26\1/2\ years in Federal law enforcement, I can tell my colleagues that I have personally observed an increasing violence in the number of street gangs and it continues to be a growing problem all across this country. These gangs have evolved from local and regional criminal elements into large-scale and well-organized criminal enterprises. They are involved in a range of serious crimes including narcotic trafficking, open violence, intimidation and extortion. Their reach stretches across the country, and they have members in nearly every major metropolitan area, creating a nationwide network of violence and well-organized crime. The evolution and growth of these gangs is a result of heavy recruitment that takes place by gangs to attract our Nation's youth. Gangs have found that the juveniles are impressionable and easily led into a life of crime. They have also learned that they can direct these recruits to commit and take the fall for crimes while the gang leaders escape responsibility and prosecution. With their emphasis on recruitment of juveniles, they are a significant breeding ground for the rise in crime all across this country. I am, therefore, pleased to join the gentleman from California (Mr. Gallegly) and support his amendment. It provides our Federal law enforcement officials an important tool to prosecute these gang leaders who recruit juveniles to a life of crime. We simply cannot stand here today and credibly say that we are addressing juvenile crime unless we support this amendment. This amendment provides an effective tool in our law enforcement arsenal and allows our agencies to combat these gangs. I am convinced that this is a proper tool at the proper time for this bill.

Mr. REYES

Mr. REYES. Madam Chairman, parliamentary inquiry. There are a number of Members that would like a unanimous consent to be in opposition to the amendment. Do I yield time, or does it count against my 1\1/2\ minutes? What is the procedure? Obviously, we do not have enough time to have everybody speak.

Mr. REYES. It will count against my time?

Mr. REYES. Madam Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Filner). (Mr. FILNER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. REYES. Madam Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Ortiz). (Mr. ORTIZ asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. REYES. Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Chairman, I have a tremendous amount of respect for both the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Traficant) and those Members of Congress that are frustrated about the specter of terrorism, drugs, and all of these other things. But these are the facts: 90 percent of the drugs enter through our ports of entry. As the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Traficant) mentioned, only three of out of every 100 trucks are inspected. Currently there are only 8,000 Border Patrol agents to cover our border. We need 20,000 to do the job. $1.9 million was paid out in a settlement to the Ezequiel Hernandez family as he was shot by a military patrol in Texas on the border. The needs of the border are this: We need to understand and have a common-sense approach from this Congress. We need more Border Patrol agents. We need more Customs inspectors. We need more INS inspectors. We also need to support the technology that will make us effective in inspecting those trucks at the ports of entry. The consequences I see are, are we moving towards marshal law, not just for border communities, but throughout the country? Are we going to have armed personnel from the United States military in our neighborhoods, not just on the border, but throughout the country? Are we going to have another Ezequiel Hernandez incident? This has a tremendous impact, not only on border communities, but on this country and a tremendous impact on the readiness and our ability to deploy our troops and expect the best from our armed forces.