Rick Renzi

Mr. RENZI

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

Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1728, introduced by Congressman Russ Carnahan of Missouri and amended by the Resources Committee, would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of the feasibility of designating the French Colonial Heritage Area in eastern Missouri as a unit of the National Park System. This area contains some of the only existing examples of the French colonial period settlement in North America dating to circa 1785. I urge adoption of the bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. RENZI

Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 797) to amend the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-determination Act of 1996 and other Acts to improve housing programs for Indians.

Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on this legislation.

Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity today to speak on a bill I introduced earlier this year and that passed the House in April, the Native American Housing Enhancement Act. Subsequent changes to this bill by the other body were merely stylistic in nature, and they do not change the substance of this important legislation. While visiting with my Navajo and Apache constituents, I have learned that there is a need for a focus on long-term housing planning. This legislation will give tribes needed flexibility in spending grant money to enable vital housing projects to be completed more quickly. This bill makes three changes to help Native American communities in rural Arizona and across the Nation better address their housing needs. The first section of this bill clarifies that tribes are allowed unrestricted access to new Native American housing funds from HUD even if tribes retain program income from previous years. Currently, a tribe's grant money may be restricted if the tribe is receiving program income in excess of their operating costs. This clarification is critical to ensuring that we are not creating a disincentive for tribes to create income or plan for their future developments. This bill also brings USDA housing programs into alignment with HUD programs in allowing for Indian preference, which allows tribes to abide by the Indian Civil Rights Act. Currently, tribal governments may not exercise Indian preference for USDA programs because it would be considered a civil rights violation by giving preference based on racial designation. Indian preference is something tribal governments value greatly in addressing the needs of their citizens. This is not a race issue. Indian preference recognizes the political designations of tribes as sovereign entities that have entered into a government-to-government relationship with the United States. This legislation will help to ensure greater tribal use of USDA rural development grants and programs. Additionally, because another program that tribes used for their youth programs existed when the Native American Housing Assistance Act was enacted, accessibility to Youth Build funds was taken away. The Youth Build program assists communities by building new housing for needy families. Not only are tribes now prohibited from applying for Youth Build funds, but other organizations serving Native youth are prohibited as well; yet the statistics are overwhelming: The suicide rate for Native youth is three times the national average. Alcohol-related deaths among Native American ages 15 to 24 are 17 times higher than the national average. Native youth ages 12 to 20 are 58 percent more likely to become crime victims than any other race in this category. As of February, 2001, the latest statistics available, 74 percent of youth in custody in the Federal Bureau of Prisons systems were Native American youth, an increase of 50 percent since 1994. Native American youth represent only 1 percent of the American population and yet constitute as much as 3 percent of the prison population. These grim statistics speak to the importance of programs that teach life skills and give a sense of community to children in Indian Country. It is clear that these children should be able to participate in the Youth Build program that will help build better neighborhoods, more self-esteem, and make a difference for their future. The Native American Housing Enhancement Act will help Native Americans build strong homes, strong communities, and help many to achieve the American Dream of homeownership. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank our subcommittee chairman, Mr. Ney of Ohio, for helping me push this legislation through. Also, without the assistance and partnership of Mr. Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Mr. Dennis Kucinich, we could not have gotten this pushed through. It has really been a bipartisan piece of legislation. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I look forward to its passage. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts. I am grateful for the partnership. This problem is much, much bigger than party, and he has been a true friend and companion on this issue. I also want to put the administration on notice that when it comes to this new piece of miracle software that is supposed to be able to fix this title search issue, we are going to follow up here in less than 6 months to find out the results of that implementation and the results of how many clear titles they have been able to procure and to process within a timely fashion. Home ownership on the Native American reservations around this country is below 30 percent. It is the smallest amount of anywhere in the country of any minority group. Yet home ownership is the way to be able to break the cycle of poverty. One of the best leaders that we have had, along with the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), is the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney), who helped, with Mr. Frank, in the historic hearing that we had on the Navajo Nation, the first hearing since the 1800s where Indian housing has had a chance to even be heard of or had a field hearing. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney).

Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Massachusetts mentioned the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Matheson). Without the gentleman from Utah who actually attended the hearing, we could not have gotten this done. The Navajo Reservation is 18 million acres, larger than the State of West Virginia. It spans the State of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. I also want to thank the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney), everyone pulling together on this. The new housing land map that just came out shows that that portion of America is the largest poverty-ridden land mass in the State. I know these gentlemen have a history, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), of working hard on poverty issues. I thank you so much for stepping up, particularly in this time, when finally it is becoming aware that the remaining poverty in this country, one of the largest land masses of poverty in the Nation, is up there in that Four Corners area. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. RENZI

Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 358) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of the Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, and for other purposes.

Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to include extraneous material thereon.

Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 358, the Little Rock Central High School Desegregation 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act, which was introduced by the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder). This legislation recognizes a uniquely important moment in the history of this Nation and the civil rights movement. Passage of this legislation will allow the Secretary of the Treasury to issue coins commemorating the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The legislation before the House is similar to the language passed by this Chamber in late June, with the important addition of language that slightly alters the mechanism for the distribution of surcharges that would be generated by the sale of these coins. However, this bill preserves the important reforms made a decade ago in the Commemorative Coin Reform Act that specifies that non-Federal funds must be raised to match the surcharge money received. It further recognizes the unique partnership between the Department of Interior and the Little Rock School District at the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site and the significant financial contributions made by the district to preserve and maintain the historic character of the high school. Technical language was added by the Senate, with the full agreement of the chairman and ranking member of the House committee of jurisdiction and of the author of the reform language, and in no way either signifies a deviation from the intent or letter of the reform language or establishes a precedent or practice different than that laid forth in the reform language that organizations which are named recipients of the surcharges on the sale of commemorative coins must show the strength of their organization and the widespread public support of the honored organization or project by raising nongovernmental funds in an amount equal to or exceeding the surcharges received. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I thank the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney) and particularly want to thank the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder) for pulling together the support, the vast amount of support on a bipartisan basis to recognize the pain and suffering the Little Rock Nine have given to move this country forward. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. In summation, I do not deserve any credit for this. The credit really deserves to go to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder), the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney), and the delegation from Arkansas who really pulled together the House in a bipartisan fashion. I want to thank the gentleman for pulling together a community, too, down in Arkansas and allowing them to rally around the unique history of their land. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. RENZI

Mr. RENZI. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. RENZI. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, let me begin by thanking the chairman of our Homeland Security Committee for his allowing to move forward on this amendment, and more so for the protection he is now about to provide to many of our Border Patrol agents. I rise today to offer an amendment that would require all the uniforms worn by our Border Patrol agents to be made in America. Imagine yourself a Border Patrol agent who serves in harm's way along this vast and violent border who dons the uniform of this Nation which is currently made in Mexico and which could easily fall into the wrong hands. As we speak, uniforms worn by our Border Patrol agents are manufactured in Mexico and could be easily lost or stolen or, worse yet, intentionally produced to undermine our border security efforts. These uniforms represent the law and order on our border, and allowing these uniforms to be made in America would minimize the possibilities that they could be procured by smugglers, terrorists, or others who pose great risk to our agents. In 1941, Congress passed the Berry amendment, which restricts the Department of Defense from procuring some military uniforms for national security purposes outside of them being manufactured in America. For over 60 years Congress has chosen to keep this policy in place, and yet every day on our border our agents are besieged by armed human smugglers and drug traffickers and those who want to use lethal means to target our agents. Just 2 years ago, the Border Patrol confiscated a smuggler's vehicle down on the southwest border that was painted like a Border Patrol vehicle. While we may not be able to prevent individuals from painting trucks, we can surely stop them from getting these uniforms and from these uniforms falling into the wrong hands. Our Border Patrol agents need to be able to take pride in the uniforms they wear. They need to be secure in the knowledge that, when they are on the border peering into the darkness at night protecting us and when they are trying to determine whether the individual approaching them is friend or foe, that these uniforms are not being used as a tool against them. When our agents wake up each morning, they need to see the American flag and the ``Made in U.S.A.'' label on their uniforms. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RENZI. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman for California. I do have respect for him. I think his passion on the issue has to do with the overall bill, while we are here discussing my amendment which relates to Border Patrol uniforms. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes).

Mr. RENZI. Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from New York (Mr. King), the new chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, who has stepped up to protect our Border Patrol agents and who championed this amendment.

Mr. RENZI

Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize two of my home State of Arizona's brightest young students, Ms. Anne Lee and Mr. Albert Shieh for their recent achievements at the Nation's premier math, science and technology competition. On Monday, December 5, Ms. Lee and Mr. Shieh were awarded the top prize in the Siemens Westinghouse Competition, where they won the $100,000 first prize in the team category, which they will share equally, for developing new software that more accurately analyzes genetic data that will help give scientists more insight into such inherited diseases as Alzheimer's disease, autism and bipolar disorder. These two students developed this new software while interning at a premiere biomedical research facility in Arizona, the Translational Genomics Research Institute, which is helping young students like Anne and Albert to learn first-hand cutting-edge science and technology. In addition to the award, the two promising young students were invited to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on December 5th. Anne and Albert were also featured in a front-page news story in the Arizona Republic. All of Arizona joins me in congratulating both Anne and Albert for their remarkable accomplishment. Their success affirms that Arizona will be a leader in training the young scientists who will lead our knowledge-based economy of tomorrow. Mr. Speaker, I request that the article from the Arizona Republic be included in the Record following my remarks. [From the Arizona Republic] TGen Work Wins Valley Students Scholarship Cash The partnership between TGen and Arizona to make the state a leader in biomedical research paid off Monday. Two Valley students were the first ever from Arizona to win a national Siemens Westinghouse Competition. They shared the mathematics and science team research award in New York and will split the $100,000 scholarship prize. Anne Lee, 17, a senior at Phoenix Country Day School, and Albert Shieh, 16, a junior at Scottsdale's Chaparral High School, are interns at TGen, formally known as Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix. TGen opened in 2002 as a nonprofit organization with for-profit enterprises and conducts genetic research to try to cure diseases. The win exemplifies one of the institute's goals of educating Arizona youths in the biosciences and the hope that the students will ultimately return with their knowledge to the Arizona scientific community. The students improved a TGen computer program that analyzes genetic data to find more information about inherited diseases such as Alzheimer's, autism and bipolar disorder. ``I was pretty ecstatic,'' Shieh said. ``I was in shock because I didn't expect to win.'' Lee was equally surprised. ``They gave us this big check. It was amazing, because all the other projects were really good,'' Lee said. The TGen internship program is in its second official year. ``Our goal is to make Arizona the best in K-12 bioscience education nationwide,'' said Dietrich Stephan, director of the neurogenomics division at TGen, ``There's a long way to go but this proves we can do it here.'' During the summer, Lee and Shieh were a part of the institute's 60 unpaid interns from high school and college. About 10 students continue to work a couple of days a week after school during the school year. It's real life exposure to what it means to be a biomedical researcher, Stephan said. ``The students work side by side with a Ph.D.-level mentor. They're working on real research problems that we have ongoing.'' TGen is providing Arizona students a venue of excellence that will put them at the top of the field, Stephan said. ``They're getting a graduate level education in high school,'' he said. Lee's research identified the causes for the neurological disease called Salla disease. This was Lee's second summer as an intern and ``she blew the doors off of this,'' Stephan said. ``She figured out the one gene that was broken that causes the disease.'' Her work was published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics. ``Albert did a similarly impressive job,'' Stephan said. Shieh was the first author on a paper published in the BMC Genomics journal. He worked on scanning the 3 billion- letter genetic code to find disease-causing mutations. On Monday, the Arizona teens, along with the top individual winner, Michael Viscardi, 16, of San Diego, got to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

Mr. RENZI

Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding me this time. I want to be honest with a lot of people in this House. My father served this Nation for 34 years. He has been friends with Jack Murtha for 20 years. Our families have known each other for over 20 years. Jack Murtha's resolution calls for a redeployment. Jack Murtha's Web site talks about redeployment. Duncan Hunter's resolution talks about immediate withdrawal. They are two separate issues. Both men do not impugn each other's character. The media may have taken Mr. Murtha's idea and spun it into immediate withdrawal, and that message may not be the message that our troops need to hear from this Congress. We need to be straight, and we need to be honest with each other. Leading up to this, there have been individuals who have come down here and have been insightful. We have got some tough guys in the House who want to say that this President manipulated prewar intelligence. Sandy Berger said, Saddam Hussein will use his weapons of mass destruction and he will use them again probably 10 times. Madeleine Albright said, He jeopardizes stability in the region with weapons of mass destruction. The WMD Commission said they found no evidence of manipulation, and the 9/11 Commission said they found no evidence of manipulation. Those are facts. Jack Murtha is a great man and a patriot. Duncan Hunter wants to send a message to our troops that says we are not saying we have to immediately withdraw. We need to come back after Thanksgiving, we need to think about it and go through what our strategy is in Iraq to best protect our boys and girls and to bring peace and stability to the region. And it needs to be thoughtful. But tough guys coming down here saying that this President manipulated evidence is a bald-faced deception.

Mr. RENZI

Mr. RENZI. Could I ask our Sergeant at Arms, Mr. Livingood, to join us here in the well, please. Mr. Speaker, last night at Gallaudet University on their gridiron, a group of Republicans and Democrats in bipartisan fashion came together and a little magic took place. A group of ragtag old football players among the cold and the rain and the blood and the guts went against the Capitol Police, some 20 years younger, some 7 inches taller, some 50 pounds heavier, and we won, 14-14. But what also took place was that a bunch of United States Congressmen and other friends on this Hill who both played and did not play raised over $40,000 for the families of those police officers who gave their lives to protect each and every one of us. We were coached in probably what might be his last game by the legendary Coach Tom Osborne of Nebraska. It really, truly shows that when Republicans and Democrats come together, no matter what, we can fight for a great cause and nobody can beat us. On behalf of all our colleagues, Mr. Livingood, this is for you guys, you can keep it for 6 months, and then we want it in the Speaker's lobby. Thank you so much.

Mr. RENZI

Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3351) to make technical corrections to laws relating to Native Americans, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. RENZI. 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. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 3351 addresses a number of minor noncontroversial tribal issues in one legislative package. H.R. 3351 contains 11 proposed amendments to our current law to assist tribes with matters that are relatively small in nature but very important to Native Americans across our Nation. Specifically, this legislation makes technical corrections to laws relating to Native Americans and Alaskan natives by reauthorizing certain Native American programs, clarifying statutes relating to particular tribes and approving a 99-year land lease for certain tribal lands. H.R. 3351 makes these beneficial changes in areas relating to tribal sovereignty, culture and areas with potential to encourage economic development. Numerous tribes will be able to move forward on projects that will help to strengthen their tribal government and better illuminate their history and culture. Each year, Congress passes a bill like this relating to technical corrections, and, thankfully, we have been able to utilize the consultation of many tribal leaders in examining this legislation. I hope we can now act in a bipartisan fashion. I look forward to the support of this Congress for H.R. 3351. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline).

Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I know that Chairman Young is in considerable support of this legislation and will be submitting a written statement for the Record.