Loretta Sanchez

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 4 on February 1, 2000, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 3, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 2 on January 31, 2000 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. If the gentleman will yield further, they do say that. They say that they do not think at a Federal level we should be involved. We have proposed to them programs that work wonderfully; for example, school construction bonds, the whole issue of at a local level an entire community has to decide that, yes, in fact they need new schools and they are willing to pay for new schools. They have to pass a bond issue; if they would do that, if they would do the work, and then of course the building of the schools and all of that is still under local control. We have a lot of propositions here in the House that would say, you pay the principle on the bonds and we, those people who purchased those school bonds, will get a tax credit on their income tax form, $1 for $1, where they do not have to send the money to Washington. Instead, they get the tax credit on their income taxes. What does that mean? It means that the Federal government basically picks up the interest cost on the bonds. That is about a 50 percent match. It has two of these Republican types of issues with it; one, keep it at a local level. They have to approve it locally, they have to work it locally, and the local community wants it, needs it, and decides to do it. And secondly, do not send your money to Washington, do not send us the money, keep it as a tax credit. It fits right in there their philosophies of less money to Washington, but still this whole issue of constructing schools is just something that they do not want to do, at a time when I look in California and we have such a need. One of the districts I represent, Anaheim City School District, it is growing at twice the rate in school enrollment of children as the five fastest growing States in school enrollment across the Nation, twice as fast. It grows by about a thousand students a year. That is a new elementary school every year. Yet, they have the same number of elementary schools they had as when I was going through the school system 25, 30 years ago. It is amazing. They go year round, four-track. They never have a summer anymore. They do not have a traditional school, they have different tracks going. They send their kid for 8 weeks, and then he is off for a week. Then they send him for another 8 weeks, et cetera. Every time that the teacher finishes that 8 weeks, she has to pack up her classroom, put it in storage, go away for a week, come back, unpack the classroom in a different school building. Imagine if you are a professional, imagine if we had to pack up our offices every 8 or 9 weeks here, how much work we would really get done. They have gone to double sessions, so not only do they have this year-round school going on, but they have an a.m. and p.m. session with their kids, which means some kids start to eat lunch at 9 in the morning, and some kids do not get lunch until 2 p.m. in the afternoon. They have sessions at which kids, they have only so much room outside for kids to sit down at the picnic tables. Besides that, they have portables all over the green grass area, so the kids really cannot go out and play anymore because they now have portable classrooms. In fact, I have a school system that, if you took the number of portables they have on the school sites, on the current permanent school sites, and you took them off and you actually made the equivalent of new school sites, you would have 27 new school sites versus the 26 existing school sites. That is how crowded it is getting in California.

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I would agree with the gentleman. We have had various petitions and, hopefully, there will be another way when we return in January to try to get the prescription drug issue to the floor. I just want to wrap up my comments with respect to what the gentleman from North Dakota said about Social Security. Let us face it. Next year is going to be a very difficult election year with control of the House, in particular, up for grabs. I think it will be very difficult to move legislation through. This would have been really the ideal year to take a look at the Social Security issue and shoring it up. Why? Because we have the time to do it. Because we have a surplus for the first time to be able to take a look at where the monies are spent. And because there are still inequities. Just looking at the 2013 year where we will have the switch over and there will be a deficit fund gathering for Social Security. But there are still inequities in the program that we have, like the notch babies. All of these issues. They do not affect a lot of the population, but they affect people who have been working very hard all of their lives and somehow along the line got something done, a law passed here that was against them for really no reason. We really need to take a look at this restructure of Social Security, make sure that it is solvent, make sure that we are putting the monies aside today for tomorrow when we will need them. And it is a shame that this Congress was unable or unwilling, that the leadership in this House, the Republican leadership, was unwilling to address the Social Security reform issue. Mr. Speaker, with that I yield back to the gentleman from New Jersey.

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from New Jersey for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to reiterate what the gentleman just talked about, this whole issue of why have we been here 6 extra weeks. Because I go home to my district and people ask me all the time, why is this fighting going on in Congress? I try to explain to them that the strategy of the other side, of the Republicans, was to fund what they wanted up front in the appropriations bills and then leave the appropriations that they do not like to fund to the very end, and say, we have spent too much already. We cannot fund these other issues. Of course, the one they wanted to leave for the end was the HHS and education bill, health care, human services, the education pieces of the budget. In fact, initially out of the Appropriations Committee, as I recall, they wanted a 40 percent cut in that. I tell people all the time when I am back home, the reason we are in Washington still is because the Democrats did not want to see education and health care services cut. We would stand up and we would fight for that. Of course, as we saw, we are getting the next installment, if you will, of the 100,000 teachers. I think that is great. It is patterned after the COPS program. Something that we have seen since President Clinton initiated that and we voted for it and we have been funding it, we have been seen the crime rate drop across the Nation. It is really interesting because, of course, then we had COPS III in this year's budget. The Republicans did not want to fund it anymore. I would go back home and even my own police officers would say, what is wrong with those guys? Why do they not understand that the reason that crime has gone down is because we have had these extra bodies to put out in the communities to not deal in a negative way with neighborhoods, but to do a positive campaign, have a presence in the neighborhood, and it really has brought crime down. And it is amazing to me that they would want to cut off that program, but of course that is what they had in mind, just as they did not want to do the second installment of the teachers. We know when we look at the education system, a young child, and I had a forum in my district, and I remember the Vice President, Mr. Gore, came out. One of the students stood up, and she must have been, gosh, I think about 12 years old. We asked her, what is the most important thing in the classroom? What do you think is the most important thing? And she said, the most important thing is the quality of the teacher in the classroom. This is a young student. And I believe that. Trained teachers, teachers that are teaching to 20 students versus 40 students, it makes a big difference. Of course, I am from California, where we have had at a State level an initiative to bring down the class size by hiring more teachers, et cetera. We have seen an incredible difference. I have first grade teachers, where we have implemented this in first and second and some of third grade, I have had the first grade teachers tell me, my students are learning to read. The difference is that I only have 20 to teach, and I can spend the quality time with them and understand the individual problems that they have in learning to read better than when I used to have 40 children in the classroom and it was more of a disciplinary problem, and I had to watch what was going on, and I could not spend individual time with students because there were so many, 39 others running amok. The first grade teachers will tell us the difference is that they have a smaller class size and they can understand the individuals. Gosh, when we look at this Columbine situation and the school safety issue, and we look at what these students are really telling us, when we look at what is happening, it is a need for attention. When you have a smaller class size, a teacher can see, are there problems with this child? Might they be having problems at home? Do we need to get some help for them? Can I sit down and talk something through with them? It is much harder to do for 40 kids in the classroom than it is on an individual basis. I hope that people will understand why we have been here fighting as Democrats, and it has been because we care about what is happening in the public school system. We want to fix it. We want to help it. That is through a myriad of programs, not just more teachers, but the teacher training grants that we have approved, the technology, which is such a need in the classroom. I hope they will also understand that we have also been fighting to keep safety, to keep the crime rate down, to keep this safety issue out there by fighting for the COPS program. These have been just incredibly important issues as to why we have been here, in addition to the health care factor that the gentleman mentioned earlier, and of course, the prescription drugs, and things that we just have not been able to get through because the leadership of this House, the Republican leadership, has closed an eye to it and do not want to push this type of thing through.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 41. Legislation honoring the brave women who served the United States during world War II. I would also like to commend my colleagues, Representative Myrick and my distinguished Chairman, Mr. Buyer, for all of their hardwork on this important legislation. As we approach Veterans Day, we must thank all of our Veterans for providing us with the peace that we enjoy in our prosperous country. This century our nation has sent its sons and its daughters to war many times. And today we are here to pay tribute to a special group that has answered this call to arms, the women who served our nation proudly during WWII. To all the remarkable servicewomen out there, thank you for your service to America. These individuals are the true pioneers who broke through the barriers and paved the way for future women serving in the military. Women have been in our service since George Washington's troops fought for independence--clothing and feeding our troops and binding their wounds. They were in the struggle to preserve the Union as cooks and tailors, couriers and scouts, and even as spies. Some were so determined to fight for what they believed that they masqueraded as men and took up arms. And more than 400,000 women served this great nation during World War II. Yes, more than 400,000 women. General Eisenhower is known to have stated, ``During the time I have had WACs (members of the Women's Army Corps) under my command--they met every test and task assigned to them. Their contributions in efficiency, skill, spirit, and determination are immeasurable''. From Pearl Harbor to the invasion of the Philippines to the liberation of Europe, these brave women endured bombs, disease, and deprivation to support our Allied forces. But despite this history of bravery and accomplishment, women were treated as second class soldiers. They could give their lives for liberty, but they couldn't give orders to men. They could heal the wounded and hold the dying, but they could not dream of holding the highest ranks. They could take on the toughest assignments, but they could not take up arms. Still they volunteered, fighting for freedom but also fighting for the right to serve to the fullest of their potential. Well today, we are here to finally honor these brave women for the service they gave to this great nation during the Second World War. We cherish your devotion, we admire your courage, and we thank you for your service.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, with the approach of Veterans' Day, we must remember the sacrifices made by those that have fought to preserve our freedom. Fortunately, our society has been blessed with many leaders who learned the values of responsibility and loyalty and leadership while wearing the uniform of this country. For without their dedication to duty, we would not enjoy the many freedoms this fortunate America has to offer. Mr. Speaker, we have a responsibility to honor the commitments that we have made our veterans. At a time when our economy is the strongest in decades and the Federal Government is experiencing budget surpluses, it is incomprehensible to me that Republicans would have, as its top priority, an across-the-board cut to our veterans' programs and benefits. This loss of funding would threaten the very survival of our veterans' health care system. The Republicans' decision to cut these programs is misguided and ill- advised. Yes, we need to get to the Nation's work and we need to come to a budget agreement but let us not do it at the expense of our sick and disabled veterans.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to the Mexican- American veterans who have served the United States of America in war and peace throughout the course of our nation's history. Hispanos fought against the British during the American Revolution. In 1779, General Bernardo de Galvez of New Orleans led an army against the British, defeating them in key battles along the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge and Pensacola, Florida. The General's army captured eight British warships and over 5,000 British soldiers. And in 1836, Mexican-Americans fought in the battle for the Lone Star State, Texas. Nine Mexican-Americans died during the Battle of the Alamo. Historically, over 500,000 Mexican-Americans served during World War II and the Korean War. In the Vietnam War, Mexican-Americans represented 20% of the combat troops, yet were only 10% of the total population of the United States! And in April of 1999, two of the Americans who were captured and held in Kosovo as prisoners of war were Latinos, Sgt. Andrew Ramirez and Spec. Steven Gonzales. Patriotic, heroic, and loyal to their country, Mexican-Americans have stood united against the enemies who have threatened America's freedom. Colleagues, please join me today in saluting the Mexican-American Veterans who have honored our country with their bravery and dedication.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 213. I thank my friends on the other side of the aisle, my fellow Members from California, for bringing this matter to the House's attention. I am very saddened by the statistics that reveal the financial illiteracy plaguing our young people. Many American high school students are unable to balance a checkbook. They really have very little training in the basics of financial life--how to earn, spend, save and invest. Without teaching our students these skills, we force young people to learn these lessons by trial and error--and by the costly mistakes that result. In an era where young people have the highest access to credit cards in American history, yet no training in how to responsibly manage this opportunity, can we be surprised that debt and bankruptcy are on the rise? A nationwide survey conducted in 1997 by the Jump$tart Coalition for Financial Literacy, tested 1,509 12th graders on four knowledge areas: income, money management, savings and investment, and spending. Only 5 percent of the respondents received a ``C'' grade or higher. Mr. Chairman, these rates are abysmal. We can and must do better. I commend the sponsors of this legislation and urge my colleagues to support it.

Ms. SANCHEZ. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill, and I thank my friends on the other side of the aisle, my fellow Members from California, for bringing this matter to the House's attention. I am very saddened by the statistics that reveal the financial illiteracy that plagues our young people. Many American high school students are unable to balance a checkbook, and they really have no training in the basics of financial life, how to earn, how to spend, how to save and how to invest. Without teaching our students these skills, we force young people to learn these lessons by trial and error, and by the costly mistakes that result. In an era where young people have the highest access to credit cards in American history, yet no training in how to responsibly manage this responsibility, can we be surprised that debt and bankruptcy are so much on the rise? A nationwide survey conducted in 1997 by the Jump Start Coalition for Financial Literacy tested 1,509 12th graders on four knowledge areas, income, money management, savings and investment, and spending. Sadly, only 5 percent of the respondents received a ``C'' grade or higher. Five percent. Madam Speaker, these rates are abysmal. We can and we must do better. I commend the sponsors of this legislation. I urge my colleagues to support it.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to the actions of the House. We are engaged in a very serious matter this week as we near a budget reconciliation. The Republican leadership is urging that we make severe cuts to our Nation's domestic programs, and, as my colleagues know, this is just after the last 4 or 5 months when they said there was so much money there they could return $800 billion. But today they are telling us not only can they not do that, but they have got to cut the funding programs of the national government. Mr. Speaker, as the daughter of a school teacher and a member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, I am particularly concerned that education will be severely affected. The majority spending bill would cut the national class size reduction program, after-school care, reading and math programs, Head Start and teacher training programs; but the damage would extend beyond the classroom. It would hit senior citizens, American working families, family caregivers, even the survivors of Hurricane Floyd. I will oppose the HHS bill today, and I hope the rest of my colleagues will also.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to congratulate Sonia Daniels Edwards, M.A., C.C.C.S.L.P., who has been named ``Teacher of the Year for Fountain Valley.'' Mrs. Edwards has been awarded the title, ``Teacher of the Year'' for her outstanding contributions to education. She is the first speech and language pathologist selected for this prestigious award. As a speech and language therapist, Sonia Edwards is always at the cutting edge of new research and developments in speech and language. Her ability to diagnose and develop individualized programs for students has resulted in the identification and solution to problems that were interfering with the individual students ability to learn. Mrs. Edwards ability to solve these learning ``mysteries'' gained her the confidence and admiration of her fellow professionals. Mrs. Edwards speciality is autism. During the past two years, she has served as the district's Autism Coordinator, training staff, setting up home programs, and continuing to provide solutions to many of these baffling learning disorders. Mrs. Edwards has been known to spend many long hours on the job. She is a dedicated teacher who always has the time to talk with parents regarding their child's special needs. As an educator, she rises to new challenges and tackles the most complex situations. The word ``no'' is not in her vocabulary. Respected and admired by her peers, parents and students, Sonia Edwards, is a role model for all of those who know her. Colleagues, please join me today as I recognize and pay tribute to a gifted and talented teacher, Sonia Daniels Edwards.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Madam Chairman, well, my colleagues, what a century it has been for women's progress. We could say that this century we got the vote, we own businesses and earn college degrees like never before, we control our own money, we are in the workplace, in the factories, in the corner offices, and on the playing field. In fact, just this year, we rejoiced in the great successes of Title IX when the U.S. women's soccer team showed the world what it really means to kick like a girl at the World Cup. Well, my colleagues, I knew it was a bad idea to win that soccer game. Because the Republican male leadership in Congress apparently took Brandi Chastain's winning kick as a sign that everything is fine, that we do not need the Women's Educational Equity Act anymore, that everything is suddenly A-okay. Well, I have got news for my colleagues. Women are only 17 percent of students who take the computer science Advanced Placement test. Women are 50 percent of the population yet only 8 percent of the engineering workforce. Women are 3 percent of the top executives at the Fortune 500 companies. So what do they want to do about that? Repeal the law that has helped American girls for 25 years. Our role is to reduce the final Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization of this 20th century. We have got to make it one that prepares all students, boys and girls, for the challenges and for the opportunities that await them. So I urge my colleagues to support the Mink-Woolsey-Sanchez-Morella amendment to H.R. 2.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my constituent and the Orange County delegate to the Voices Against Violence Summit this week. As my colleagues know, our Democratic leader, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt), is sponsoring a youth summit to combat teen violence, and I am proud to be participating in this event. Michelle Aceves is in Washington as a result. She is a recent graduate of Century High School of Santa Ana, and now she attends Orange Coast College, where she is studying psychology and broadcast journalism. She plans to complete her studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara. In addition to her academic commitment, Ms. Aceves works part-time and volunteers at McFadden Middle School in my district. Hundreds of teenagers like Michelle from across the country are here this week to share their ideas on youth violence. Michelle and her fellow delegates have proven what many of us have long known, that our teenagers believe that helping our children and young adults stay safe is a top priority and that they want to help solve this crisis. This conference will lay the foundation for local projects to prevent violence in our schools. Our teens can contribute to the congressional debate on youth violence, and they can help to find solutions. But we must listen.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I insert the following for the Record:***HD***M.G. Vallejo, Friends and Acquaintances (By Galal Kernahan) When the Senate and the House of Representatives approved an ``Act for the Admission of California into the Union'' on September 9, 1850, its ``Birth Certificate'' had been reviewed and found in order, whereas, the people of California have presented a constitution and asked admission into the Union, which constitution was submitted to Congress by the President of the United States. 1999 is American California's Constitutional Sesquicentennial. Forty-eight elected delegates met in Convention in Monterey and finished their work September 12, 1849. That work was approved in California-wide voting on December 13, 1849. What follows is a glimpse of the human side of how this remarkable bilingual, multicultural state charter came into being. Chief source for the discussions and actions of the Monterey Convention one hundred and fifty years ago is an official 477-page account of what happened. Called ``Browne's Debates,'' it was published in English and in Spanish. It was bound in Washington, D.C., in 1850, in order to be properly presented together with the California Constitution to the U.S. President and appropriate officials. The seal of the State of California is more than a little strange. It centers on a seated lady. At her feet a Grizzly bear munches grape clusters. Considering the relative scale of things, that is one huge woman! Grizzlies average 500-600 pounds and can top out at almost twice that. It looks like a dumpy dog compared to her. Well California is vast. And as First Assistant Secretary Caleb Lyon explained to our 48 Constitutional Forefathers, Saturday, September 29, 1849, in Monterey's Colton Hall schoolhouse: ``She (the goddess Minerva . . . spring full grown from the brain of Jupiter) is introduced as a type of the political birth of the State of California . . .'' In other words, we jumped straight into being a State without spending any time in Aunt Sam's womb as a Territory. And the bear? . . . emblematic of the peculiar characteristics of the country.'' Monterey-born Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo well knew those peculiar characteristics. Bears could be mean: bullying, armed, irregular ``Bear Flaggers,'' meaner. They locked him up and mistreated him. He facetiously suggested that, if the bear had to remain in the Seal, it should ``be represented as made fast by a lasso in the hands of a vaquero.'' The idea lost by five votes. The convention was crawling with ambitious cub lawyers. They averaged from four months to a year or two in California. They were impressed with the symbolism--the miner with his rocker, ships on the waters, snow-clad peaks of the Sierra Nevada. ``Eureka'' (found it!) was a nifty motto too. On Friday, October 12, 1849, after a traditional official thank-you to Chairman Robert Semple (like Vallejo, another 42-year-old from Sonoma), they trooped over to pay respects to California's Military Governor Brigadier General Bennett Riley. Before parting for San Joaquin, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco, Sonoma, Sacramento, Santa Barbara, and San Jose, they partied away the night. Each chipped in $25 for an historic blow-out, a real two-violin-guitar fandango. A 31-gun cannon salute heralded what would be American's 31st State . . . eleven months later. On leaving next day, Henry Hill and Miguel de Pedroena wondered if printed copies of California's ``Birth Certificate'' would reach their remote San Diego district before people voted. Not to worry. Ratification carried 12,872 to 811 on a rainy November 13, 1849. The most important thing the Constitution proved is that CALIFORNIANS BUILD THEIR STATE TOGETHER. They have from the start. That doesn't mean it was a September Song in rustic Monterey in 1849. Delegates connived, bickered, blathered, were or became friends . . . or enemies. California diversity--as it always can--made the Convention work well enough for good things to happen. The issue of slavery was tearing the United States apart. Furies, that would explode in Civil War more than a decade later, spun across a continent like dust devils. Patience of men, who differed, dwindled. Some brought short-fused tempers to California's backwater capital. A twenty-six-year-old, Henry Tefft, born in Washington Country, N.Y., was a Wisconsin resident before he reached California three months shy of the Convention. He managed to be elected a delegate from San Luis Obispo. Attorney James McHall Jones, 25, was born in Scott County, Kentucky, and lived in Louisiana before he began a similarly brief residency here. He came representing San Joaquin. Jones was sure Thefft insulted him in convoluted argument about voting apportionment, but the animosity ran deeper than that. It quickly escalated towards the point-of-honor stage that would make a duel unavoidable. Others acted automatically to head off tragedy. While they raised parliamentary questions about who, if anyone, should apologize to whom, Latino delegates muddled things further by announcing, ``The question appears to be respecting certain English words, which we do not understand. We desire to be excused form voting.'' Tempers cooled. (An anti-dueling Constitutional provision passed later . . . delinked from the incident by a few days.) At Monterey, the summed lives of seven Californios totaled 293 years. Add the twelve years' residency of Spain-born Miguel de Pedroena, and this aggregated to 305. The other 40 delegates had been logged 154 California years between them all. Five were foreign-born. John Sutter, 47, from Switzerland, operated the sawmill where the gold was discovered that started the rush. The remaining 35 grew up in States of the North and South. Regional hangups were reflected in their comments. Where would an extended Mason- Dixon line divide California? Or the Missouri Compromise boundary? The Wilmot Proviso had been like a pole thrust in American wasps' nest. In 1846, before President James Polk warred with Mexico to take half its land, he bargained to buy it. Pennsylvania Representative David Wilmot tried to tie a string to money sought from Congress. He twice persuaded the Lower House to condition appropriation on the commitment that ``neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any part of said territory.'' The U.S. Senate stalled the first try by adjourning before the bill could come before it; on the second, it passed its own message without any anti- slavery language. In the 1848 Treaty of Peace, the U.S. paid $15 million for California and what became the American Southwest. Word of the stymied Proviso had ricocheted around the country by then with States and communities lining up for or against. It echoed in distant Monterey. While Utah and New Mexico became territories, California entered the Union as a Free State in 1850. It was thanks in part to another deal by ``Great Pacificator,'' Senator Henry Clay, the same legislator who pulled the Missouri Compromise out of a hat a quarter century earlier. Colton Hall rhetoric was, by today's standards, gratingly racist. Though not without their defenders, African-Americans and Native Americans were trashed. There was nasty talk about Chileans, Native Hawaiians, and Australians drawn by the discovery of gold. In San Francisco, they risked being lynched. Transplanted Northerners and Southerners at Monterey knew each others' arguments by heart. They said much but no longer heard much. Theirs were dialogues of the deaf. Californios nudged everyone a bit off balance. There was language. Debate on land tenancy took an idiotic turn for Vallejo when he misheard ``freeholders'' as frijoles (free-HO-les, beans). There was culture. Courtliness and gente-de-razon class consciousness seemed Southern, but their color-free views sounded downright Northern. A Santa Barbara Californio explained, ``Many citizens of California have received from nature a very dark skin. Nevertheless, there are among them men who have heretofor been allowed to vote, and, not only that, but to fill the highest public offices. It would be very unjust to deprive them of the privileges of citizens merely because nature had not made them white . . .'' When is black-and-white not black and white? With 16 months in California, Virginia-born Monterey Delegate Charles T. Botts, 40, claimed, ``. . . no objection to color . . . I would be perfectly willing to use any word which would exclude the African and Indian races . . .'' A Californio gift to our Original Constitution makes a married woman's property her own. It seemed a novel, somewhat daring idea to transcontinental newcomers, but Convention Secretary Henry Wager Halleck, 32, reasoned thus: ``I am not wedded either to the common law or the civil law, nor as yet, to a woman; but having some hopes that some day or other I may be wedded . . . I shall advocate this section in the Constitution. I would call upon all the bachelors in this Convention to vote for it. I do not think we can offer a greater inducement for women of fortune to come to California . . .'' The Convention interpreter must have smiled. William Hartnell landed, a young English merchant, in sleepy Monterey in 1822. He married Teresa a De La Guerra daughter. Already multilingual, his Spanish became flawless. They had 18 children. There was contention about the new State's boundaries. Some argued California encompassed everything just taken from Mexico and stretched to Montana and Colorado. Tennessee-born William Gwin, 44, was recently of Louisiana. Not yet three months on the Pacific Coast when he arrived at the Convention representing San Francisco, he predicted: ``I have no doubt the time will come when we will have twenty states this side of the Rocky Mountains. When the population comes, they will require that this state shall be divided.'' Some immediately visualized one-for-the-South and one-for- the-North and . . . Jose Antonio Carrillo (at 53 the oldest man there) came to the Convention toying with the idea California might be split at San Luis Obispo to leave the southern part a Territory. He changed his mind. Now he remembered that, when he was alcalde (mayor) of Los Angeles, he had seen Spanish maps that bounded California with the Sierra Nevada line on the east. About a fourth of the delegates made three-fourths of the speeches. Yet you can still sense the presence and influence of the not-so-talkative ones. With few exceptions, they prevailed on big issues. 1999 marks the Sesquicentennial of California's Original 1849 Constitution, our U.S. ticket of admission. Diversity worked. CALIFORNIANS BUILD THEIR STATE TOGETHER! Even greater diversity works today. It is our ticket to the world.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, in my state and across the country, women are playing an ever growing role in the business world. I am pleased that the number of women and minority owned businesses in the state of California continues to grow. With Business Women's Network (BWN) having its Global Summit in Washington D.C., now is the perfect time to recognize the growing power that women have in the business world. There are delegates from over 47 states and 97 countries participating in the summit which is celebrating diversity in the business world. The major theme of the summit is the use of cutting-edge technology to create More Business for More Women Across More Borders. Knowing the importance of women in the business world and realizing the growing influence of BWN, I join my colleagues in asking that October 19 be recognized as Global Business Women Day.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to the actions of the House leadership. The Republicans cannot make the tough choice on government spending, so they have resorted to across-the- board spending cuts. It is a slash-and-burn budget cutting, and this will fall squarely on the backs of seniors and children, the most vulnerable members of society. That means cutting food and education programs to poor children and destroying Meals on Wheels for home-bound seniors. The programs that have been so successful in empowering our citizens to succeed like Head Start and Gear Up and adult literacy programs are slashed or gone entirely. Mr. Speaker, the Republicans have missed their budget deadline. They have busted the budget caps, all the while claiming to be fiscally responsible, and they are spending the Social Security surplus, more than $19 billion of it. So now we must judge them by their actions, or in this case, their gimmicks, calling the census an emergency, or adding a thirteenth month to the calendar year. This is not the kind of leadership the American people need and deserve from their elected representatives.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to share with my colleagues the stories of families in my District who have needlessly suffered in the absence of a real Patients' Bill of Rights. I want to share with you a story that happened to one of my constituents in what is believed to be the first real brittle bone disease case in Orange County that has gone to trial. Imagine this man's horror when his son was taken away and given to Child Protective Services because of alleged child abuse. This child was not abused, the child had an incurable disease that was mis- diagnosed. It is unfathomable to me that the system, which is here to protect patients, would use outdated methods to diagnose this disease, have the patient suffer and not have Patient Protection Legislation for the worst case scenario to safeguard them from medical incompetency. Since I came to Congress, I have listened closely to the managed care reform debate. I have also read the newspapers, seen the polls, and continue to hear the horror stories. This past weekend, I did what every member of Congress should be doing; I heard from my constituents. I learned that my constituents do want reform and do want some type of ``Patients' Bill of Rights.'' They want Congress to initiate reform and to keep the interest of the patients in mind. My constituents believe that HMO's are the future of healthcare, but they want to make sure that care is put above profits. The Democratic Patients' Bill of Rights returns medical decisions back to America's families and their doctors. It is based on proposals endorsed by America's family doctors. Any bill we pass is going to affect each one of my constituents, millions of Americans, and thousands of Orange County residents. But only the Democratic bill will cover all 161 million Americans with private insurance. The American public cannot continue to afford the absence of Managed Care Reform. But the worst thing we could do is pass legislation that puts consumers in a worse situation than they are today. That is exactly what the Republican piecemeal managed care legislation would do. The Republican proposal is a minimalist bill that stops short of offering real Patient Protection Legislation. We need to pass Managed Care protection legislation and we need to pass it in this Congress.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to congratulate Herman R. Fink on his 103rd birthday. A resident of Santa Ana, Mr. Fink has lived, on his own, at the same address for 60 years. His only daughter, Lorraine, his family and friends, will gather on his birthday, October 2, 1999, for their annual celebration at his favorite restaurant. Once again, those who love and admire him, will share in the glow of this wonderful event. During his lifetime, Mr. Fink has traveled around the world, from Egypt to Australia, from France to South America. He is truly a world- citizen who has captured the romance and excitement of all the countries he visited and his memories are the postcards that have enhanced his life and the lives of those who know him well. Herman Fink was married for 67 years to his wife, Clara. His marriage was a perfect match made in heaven, according to his only daughter, Lorraine Ellison of Garden Grove, California. His life is filled with the pride and joy of his two granddaughters and two great grandchildren. Colleagues, please join with me today as we salute a wonderful man, an octogenarian, who has lived life well and to the very fullest.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to one of the most pressing difficulties facing our schools: overcrowded and run- down facilities. Last month, 53.2 million young people went back to school. The facilities that greeted them were not up to par. One-third of all public schools are in serious need of repair or replacement, and nowhere is that problem more obvious than my home district in Orange County, California. Our schools are simply run down and out of room, and California is feeling the crunch. Facilities are so crowded in our state that we would have to spend $4 billion by 2002 in order to provide enough space. In fact, high school enrollment is projected to grow by a full one-third between 1998 and 2008. Right now our children attend schools with leaking roofs, dangerous wiring and chipping paint, crammed into storage closets, libraries and gyms for lack of classroom space. By neglecting to provide an environment appropriate for learning and teaching, we are sending our youth a message that their academic success is unimportant to us. This tragically shortchanges our students. That's why I have introduced H.R. 415, the Expand and Rebuild America's Schools Act. H.R. 415 will help local education agencies (LEAs) with limited financial resources by creating a new class of tax-exempt bonds, interest-free for LEAs. A financial institution that issues these bonds would receive a tax credit in the amount of the interest that would otherwise be paid by the LEA. So the school district only has to repay the principal, no interest. The Secretary of Education will be responsible for direct distribution of the bond program to the LEAs, avoiding any state bureaucracy involvement in funding decisions or program administration. To be eligible to participate in the school construction bond program, LEAs must: (1) have at least 35 percent of students eligible for the free or reduced-cost lunch program; (2) be involved in a public/private partnership with a local private enterprise, to provide an amount equal to at least 10 percent of the interest-free capital provided; (3) maintain high educational standards; (4) have a projected growth rate at or above 10 percent over the next five years; (5) have a student-teacher ratio of 30 to 1 or higher; and (6) have already made an attempt to alleviate overcrowding. These qualifying factors will ensure the bond program assists the most impacted, high-quality schools. Simultaneously, it will encourage schools to seek out private contributions to improve curriculum and equipment, enhancing the impact of the bond initiative. H.R. 415 will provide our children with an environment that is more conducive to learning, and prevent this facilities crisis from continuing into the next century.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) for yielding me this time. My colleagues, President Clinton vetoed the Republican tax plan for one simple reason. It uses the surplus on special interest tax cuts instead of investing it in the future of America. I call on the Republicans to go back to the drawing board and to produce a bipartisan tax and budget plan, one that addresses the needs of all Americans. Mr. Speaker, as we debate how to divide up this budget surplus that is being projected, our primary goal should be to maintain the strong and growing economy that has benefited millions of Americans. Reducing the national debt is clearly the best long-term strategy for our U.S. economy, and, in fact, not only Mr. Greenspan but many economists from all political spectrums have said let us reduce the national debt. There is a plan to do that. It is called the Blue Dog Budget. Imagine this: We are projected to spend about 15 cents of every dollar next year on interest for the national debt. Fifteen cents. That is 15 percent. If a family had a credit card and they were paying 15 percent or 18 percent or 19 percent interest rates, and all of a sudden they had more money than they thought they had at the end of the month, what should they do with it? If they are smart, they would pay down that credit card debt. Why? Because when they do not, the debt gets more and more and more. This is the time to pay the debt down. The Blue Dog Budget saves the entire Social Security surplus for Social Security, and it locks up half of the on-budget surplus for debt reduction. This approach will help ensure that our economy remains strong today and for our future.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, as a Member of the House Committee on Armed Services, I rise in strong support of the national defense authorization conference report, and I would like to thank the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spence) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) and of course the staff of the committee for all the hard work that they put into this conference report. The report addresses the quality of life, the readiness and the modernization shortfalls that the men and the women in our Armed Forces are currently facing. The report also addresses the important issue of domestic violence in the military. Mr. Speaker, as we all know, one occurrence of domestic violence is one too many, and unfortunately reports show that in 1994 in every 1,000 marriages 14 spouses were the victims of spouse abuse, and I am pleased that the conferees from both Chambers worked in a bipartisan manner to address this important issue. The language in the conference report gives the services the opportunity to take on the crime of domestic violence and to protect victims of domestic violence as they never have before. It gives the Department of Defense and the services the opportunity to develop relationships with non-military victims' community and to draw on the expertise of local domestic violence organizations to aid in designing their own programs. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote yes on the conference report.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor Officer Michael Lewellen for his commendable service to the United States Armed Forces. It is with great pride that I present Mr. Lewellen with seven prestigious military awards and decorations including the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Air Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Combat Medical Badge, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Ribbon with Device. Our nation is graced with many treasures, though none so precious as the peace we enjoy in our prosperous country. I am honored to commend Mr. Lewellen for his contribution to safeguarding that peace. It is one of our nation's great strengths that men and women have answered their country's call, and continue to heed it today to prevent the devastation we have witnessed too often this century. Fortunately, our society has been blessed with many leaders who learned the values of leadership--responsibility, accountability and loyalty--while wearing the uniform of their country. For without their dedication to duty, we would not enjoy the many freedoms a fortunate America has to offer. Again, I offer Mr. Lewellen my sincerest congratulations. I join together with everyone in this room to celebrate Mr. Lewellen's patriotism and to pay tribute to his service to our great nation.

Ms. SANCHEZ

Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor one of the most influential Hispanic civil rights organizations in the United States. The League of United Latin American Citizens is celebrating its 70th anniversary of service to the Latino community. In 1929 LULAC was formed in Corpus Christi, TX. Formed as a grassroots self-help organization, LULAC has a distinguished record of fighting for Hispanic education, employment and civil rights. Today, LULAC's 250,000 members make it the largest Hispanic organization in the U.S. Its 600 councils nationwide have been significant in empowering Latino communities in Texas, New Mexico, California, Florida, Washington, DC and New York. Education has always been a chief priority for LULAC, providing more than half a million dollars in scholarships for Latino students. LULAC National Educational Service Centers serve over 18,000 students with counseling and dropout prevention programs. At the same time, its commitment to the assurance of equal access has been fundamental in LULAC's fight for affirmative action and women's rights. In the Hispanic business community, LULAC has been important in furnishing training and management expertise, while also providing support for economic development. LULAC has also made great strides in combating Hispanic unemployment through the development of programs like SER-Jobs for Progress and Vocational Training Centers. I am proud to represent the city of Santa Ana, which is the home of the first LULAC council in California. Its work in my community is indispensable. In fact, LULAC was responsible for desegregating Orange County Schools in 1946 with Mendez v. Westminister School District. I congratulate LULAC for its 70 years of service to Hispanics in the United States. Its outstanding work should be an inspiration to other Latino leaders and elected officials, especially those here in Congress. I applaud LULAC's on its anniversary, and give thanks for all its good work.