Bobby Rush

Mr. RUSH

Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1216) to direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations to reduce the incidence of child injury and death occurring inside or outside of light motor vehicles, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. RUSH

Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure now to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlelady from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).

Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from California (Ms. Harman).

Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Stupak).

Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlelady from Connecticut, the vice chairman of the Democratic Caucus, Ms. DeLauro.

Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds. Madam Speaker, I just want to take a moment to commend the work of the staffs on both sides of the aisle. We have a dedicated, hardworking staff that has done tremendous work over the weekends and into the wee hours of the morning. They have made it possible for this outstanding bill to come before this Congress for the American people. I want to commend them for their outstanding work.

Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure and my privilege to yield such time as we have remaining to the chairman of the full committee, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell).

Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman).

Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Carney).

Mr. RUSH

Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, there have been many characterizations and descriptions of our departed colleague Julia Carson. But let me just tell you how I view Julia Carson. For me Julia Carson epitomized the Christian value of joy divine. Joy divine, the Bible calls it an unspeakable joy. It's the kind of joy that the Congress, the world can't give you and the world can't take it away. This joy is based on your faith. Julia Carson had, in my estimation, joy divine because she understood the meaning of the Scripture when it states: ``All things work together for good to those who love the Lord and those who are called according to His purpose.'' What is His purpose, one might ask? Well, He makes it pretty clear in the Old Testament. He says: ``What do I require of thee, o man, but to love mercy, do justly, and walk humbly with your God?'' Madam Speaker, Julia Carson had the joy divine. She epitomized it. She represented it. Because she knew that everything that we do, the things that we bind on Earth, we bind in heaven. And she was really not working for just her constituents, but she was, indeed, working for eternal life. And now she is at a better place in the heavens with her God. And I can just, in my own imagination, imagine Julia when she got to heaven how the angels erupted in applause because of the work that she had done while she lived here on Earth. Madam Speaker, Julia Carson did something that was almost impossible in the few years that she served in this great House. She made this great House even greater because of her commitment, her dedication, her resolve, her leadership, her insight, her compassion, those things that make one great. Madam Speaker, I know that in heaven when she approached the throne of grace, when she approached the company of her Lord and Savior, I can hear the words spoken to her right now in the old way. I can hear her Lord and her master telling her: Julia, servant, servant, well done. You did an extraordinary job under ordinary conditions. Servant, well done.

Mr. RUSH

Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 1176, I was unable to vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. RUSH

Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, on the week of November 18 we begin to celebrate in this Nation National Bible Week. National Bible Week is the National Bible Association's signature event which is celebrated the week before Thanksgiving every year since it began in 1941. In this week, we encourage the citizens of this Nation to read the Bible. Mr. Speaker, I must admit that I was not always an ardent Bible reader. I was always in and around the church, but as so many of us who belong to church, I was in the church, but church wasn't in me. Mr. Speaker, I came to this Congress in 1993 and almost immediately upon my presence here I received a Bible similar to this given by Rev. Dr. D. James Kennedy. And, Mr. Speaker, I found my evenings alone, my wife and my family back in Chicago, and somehow I had a prompting to pick up the Bible and to read the Bible. I must admit, Mr. Speaker, that although I wasn't an ardent reader, now I'm a ferocious reader of the Bible, avaricious in my interests in terms of the words recorded in God's living book. Mr. Speaker, I must say that I have been renewed as a man by the renewing of my mind according to the dictates and the Spirit that's incorporated in the reading of the Bible. I am a changed man; I am a new man. I don't have the same friends I used to have. I don't walk the same way; I don't talk the same way, and it's all because of this Bible. Mr. Speaker, I am an activist, and for years I had shunned this Bible because it didn't speak to my activism. And then the Holy Spirit spoke to me through my conversations and through my interests in reading the Bible. And, Mr. Speaker, I came across a Scripture that really moved me, two, as a matter of fact. One is taken from the Old Testament, Micah 6:6-8: ``With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of ram, 10,000 rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?'' The Lord answers, ``He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? But to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.'' Mr. Speaker, in those words, it encapsulated all that I had attempted to be, my activism, my love for humanity and my love for the Lord. Mr. Speaker, Luke 4 and 4:18: ``The spirit of the Lord is upon Me. Because He has anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.'' Mr. Speaker, my life had been, and continues today, to be a reflection of the spirit that is within me, the Holy Spirit that is within me. I call on all good citizens, Christians and non-Christians alike, during this week and every week of the year, pick up your Bible. Read the Bible. You have no better friend. You have no better solution than what is recorded in these words.

Mr. RUSH

Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentlelady from Wisconsin for yielding me this time on this very important matter. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 20, the Melanie Blocker-Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act. I would like to thank Chairman Dingell; Ranking Member Barton; my colleague, Congressman Pitts; and the members of the Energy and Commerce Committee who unanimously supported this legislation's passage out of committee. Madam Speaker, after 6 long, arduous years, today marks an important step in the protracted journey for Congress to recognize postpartum depression as a national priority. I am so proud that nearly 130 bipartisan cosponsors have united with me today to say no longer will postpartum depression be dismissed as mere ``baby blues.'' By passing H.R. 20, Congress will finally put significant money and attention into research, screening, treatment, and education for mothers suffering from this disease. Sadly, Madam Speaker, I was moved to author H.R. 20 after watching the news accounts of the missing Melanie Stokes, a new mother, a successful businesswoman, and my constituent. Despite her family's valiant interventions, Melanie's psychosis was so severe that she slipped away from her family and from her friends and tragically ended her life. Afterwards, I reached out to Melanie's mother, Carol Blocker, and was told of her daughter's diagnosis and suicide that occurred as a result of postpartum psychosis. And sometime later, Madam Speaker, I talked with Dr. Nada Stotland of the American Psychiatric Association, who is another constituent of mine, and she detailed the value in additional research. And she discussed the underreporting and mixed diagnosis of postpartum depression and psychosis in our country. There is no denying, the needs for resources to combat postpartum depression grow more and more and more each year. Here are the facts, Madam Speaker: Research indicates that some form of postpartum depression affects approximately one in 1,000 new mothers, resulting in up to 800,000 cases annually. Of the new postpartum cases this year, less than 15 percent of mothers will receive treatment. However, with treatment, over 90 percent of these mothers could overcome their depression. And approximately every 50 seconds, a new mother will begin struggling with the affects of mental illness. Madam Speaker, these facts are profound. And in the words of Carol Blocker, ``Hundreds of thousands of women who have suffered from postpartum depression and psychosis are still waiting for this Congress to act 6 years after the legislation has been introduced.'' Madam Speaker, I want to thank you for this day, because today Ms. Blocker and hundreds of thousands of mothers will not have to wait any longer for Congress to act. My legislation, to sum it up, would encourage the Secretary of Health and Human Services to further research at the National Institutes of Health on postpartum depression. My legislation would also finance a national public awareness campaign to bring this illness out of the dark and shed new light on how to screen and treat mothers. It would also add depression to the biennial report the National Institutes of Health must submit to the Congress. Lastly, my bill will finance much-needed grants to public and nonprofit organizations to establish and operate programs that provide screening, treatment and various health care and support services to individuals with postpartum depression or postpartum psychosis. Moreover, Madam Speaker, this bill is an affordable approach to research and services. The CBO estimates that H.R. 20 costs less than $500,000 per year, and $18 million over 5 years. This is good policy, Madam Speaker. This is good politics. And this is a good public health bill. I want to take a moment, Madam Speaker, just to thank the many organizations and groups, groups like Postpartum Support International, whose president right now sits in the gallery, Ms. Susan Stone; the Family Mental Health Foundation; the American Psychological Association; the American Psychiatric Association; the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; and groups like the Children's Defense Fund, the Melanie Blocker-Stokes Foundation, Suicide Prevention Action Network, Planned Parenthood Federation of America Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, the Mental Health Alliance, NARAL, so many organizations, including the National Alliance for Mental Illness, the Community Behavioral Healthcare Association, and the March of Dimes. I want to thank these individuals and various activists for their testimony at hearings, for their support, and for their participation. Madam Speaker, lastly, I want to thank the Members of this Congress, those who, when I asked to become cosponsors, they indicated that they were familiar because they had personal involvement, this dreaded disease has touched them personally; and I want to thank them for their support. Madam Speaker, I urge that this body pass this much-needed legislation, that this body, indeed, give women the help that they need in fighting this very, very difficult disease.

Mr. RUSH

Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, this is a commonsense piece of legislation. It takes a giant step toward protecting our Nation's most important asset: our children. I urge Members of this body to pass this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to the sponsor of this legislation along with Congressman Upton, the gentlewoman from Illinois, the vice chairman of the subcommittee, my friend, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky.

Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H.R. 1699, the Danny Keysar Child Product Safety Act was introduced by the vice chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, Ms. Schakowsky, and Mr. Upton, a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. The bill is named after 16-month-old Danny Keysar, who tragically and senselessly died when his defective portable crib collapsed and strangled him to death. Unbeknownst to Danny's poor parents and caregiver, the crib was subject to a voluntary recall 5 years earlier. H.R. 1699 directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission to require manufacturers of certain nursery products to create a voluntary registry to facilitate the efficacy of recall of those products when they occur. Under the bill, when a consumer buys one of 12 types of everyday durable nursery products as defined by statute, such as cribs, high chairs, bath seats and strollers, the manufacturer must provide the consumer with a postage-paid postcard. Parents will have the option to fill out the postcard and register with the manufacturer by mail or, alternatively, by e-mail so that they can be immediately notified if the product is the subject of a recall. The information on these postcards cannot be used for marketing or any other purpose than to notify consumers of the recall. It's worth noting, Madam Speaker, that this registry is based on an existing successful program for child car seats maintained by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. It's also worth noting that this bill is extremely timely, given the recent recall of infant cribs made by the company Simplicity, because of the strangulation hazard the defective cribs posed to young toddlers. Moreover, numerous press reports have recently cited just how ineffective product recalls can be. Unfortunately, parents are often unaware of defective recall products, and they remain in homes posing danger to children, as was the case with Danny Keysar. Indeed, in recent years, the CPSC has increasingly issued expanded recalls of products that have already been the subject of recalls, because the Commission continues to be vigilant and to receive injury reports on defective products. H.R. 1699 will go a long way towards remedying this problem and empowering parents to become aware of infant product recalls immediately after they are our initiated. Madam Speaker, I urge all of the Members of the House to vote for this excellent bill. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RUSH

Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1721) to increase the safety of swimming pools and spas by requiring the use of proper anti-entrapment drain covers and pool and spa drainage systems, by establishing a swimming pool safety grant program administered by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to encourage States to improve their pool and spa safety laws and to educate the public about pool and spa safety, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. RUSH

Mr. RUSH. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 814) to require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue regulations mandating child-resistant closures on all portable gasoline containers, as amended.

Mr. RUSH

Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2474) to provide for an increased maximum civil penalty for violations under the Consumer Product Safety Act, as amended.